The Chronicles of Eli
by Zeta The Sixth
Summary: The last male claymore in existence fights for survival in the world. M rating mostly for gore, possible romance in future chapters most likely OcXOc but you never know.
1. Ch 1: The Last Of A Kind

**Greetings all, I have been reading fan fiction for many years and have often thought about writing some myself, well the time has finally come for me to try my hand at this stuff, so here I go. Feel free to review and tell me what you think. Oh, and there will also be some references in the story see if you can spot them.**

**I don't own Claymore.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Chapter 1: The Last of a Kind<p>

"Mmmm... Now that right there is a tasty apple, thanks!"

"Glad to hear it, now where's the money?" inquired the bulky vendor.

"Hnn? Ah, yes one moment please!" the young man in question reached into his deep pockets and produced a few bera and tossed them to the vendor whose eyes lit up at the generosity, then he eyed the young man who shook off the intrusive stare with a wave of his hand, while walking away, calling over his shoulder "Keep the change!"

"Ahhh… such a beautiful day…" he sighed. His appearance was stranger than most. Standing at almost 2 meters and average weight he was slightly muscular but not overly and the tell-tale signs of well earned abdominal muscles could be seen; he wore bandages around his solar plexus and upper chest under a 2-piece gray skin-tight jumpsuit with no noticeable zippers, but very thin, deep pockets on each of his sides. Over that he wore a black vest with a myriad of even more zippers to store various things, with gray wool trousers to cover the suit. His more striking features was his handsome face that was clean shaven with nary a facial hair out of place, on his wrists were his shining vambraces with leather gloves, gray-brownish belt with a silvery buckle and leather steel-toed boots, on his right hand though the glove was off, as if there were a couple digits missing from it. Finally he wore an ankle length cloak with a deep hood, and most unusual of all, welding goggles that hid his eyes behind dark rims that covered the bottom of his forehead and upper of his cheekbones, and on his back laid a great cross like object with the same bandages covering his abdomen covering the object from top to bottom.

It was a peaceful enough village he stumbled upon, he thought. A little high in the mountains with no strong features that made it stand out from the hundreds of other villages all over, just a peaceful town with peaceful people who went about life, like it would always had and always would. Just people going about their business with identically made buildings and pathways. There was a forest surrounding the place, but that was to be expected from such a place in the mountains with a little stream and gully running just a little ways off from the village.

A little ways off a group of thugs saw the interaction from a distance and saw the shining gold piece.

"Did you see that?" one of the thugs whispered to the other.

"Sure did." He whispered back.

"Ha!" another barked "No one carries that kind of money around and wastes it on an apple without having a little more to go around, if you know what I mean!"

"True that!" another agreed "He just rolled into the village too I hear, folks like that don't stay very long in dinky little villages like this, probably will roll on out of here by the end of the day."

"Let's get the boss then!" another suggested "See what he thinks about relieving that boy of his oh-so heavy burden! Haha!"

So the thugs slinked away back to their leader unnoticed by the young man who didn't have a care in the world.

"Really?" the leader questioned

"Yes, sir, Mr. Heroth sir!" one of the peon piped up, "Saw it with our own eyes a gold piece!" he exclaimed with greed gleaming in his eyes.

"Hmm, I suppose you're right… that is rare to see in a small village like this…" He paused putting his finger to his lips thinking the situation over.

"Yeah, boss and even if that was his last piece, he was dressed from head to toe in expensive looking gear, we could pawn it off easy and make a small fortune! Ha! Probably one of those spoiled noble brats who just came to rub their wealth in our faces!" He added quickly.

"ALRIGHT IT'S DECIDED!" Heroth exclaimed standing up suddenly. "GATHER THE BOYS! TELL 'EM WE'RE STRIKING IT RICH, TONIGHT!"

"Yes, sir" and the peon rushed off to give orders to the rest of the gang.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile the strange-looking young man had finished his light lunch and was heading out of town, the sun was going down and he was making good time to wherever, when suddenly he spotted an overturned transport cart, with a missing wheel and a middle-aged woman kneeling down beside it dirtying herself and seemingly trying to repair said cart.<p>

"P-please, don't hurt me, here." She pleaded holding up a loaf of bread, "Take anything you want, see? Food, take it." She held up the bread shaking.

"Not gonna hurt you." he replied

"Y-yeah? W-well that's what the last guy said" she snapped, then as if considering her options she began "C-could you help me? The wheel came off. I can't fix it. Maybe if I… if I could…" she trailed off.

The stranger however was paying attention to other things, he inhaled the air and felt around in his surroundings feeling the masked presence.

"You know the only good thing about bad B.O...?" the boy asked to no one in particular, "…is that YOU CAN SMELL HIJACKERS A MILE OFF!"

The nearby bushes rumbled and out came Heroth and his gang of bandits of about two dozen men one by one filling up the path before the young man and slightly flanking him on either side, the woman just cowered behind her cart.

"I am impressed!" started Heroth leading from the center of the pack, standing a full half-foot over the boy and the other men. "This lad here SMELLED us from 30-feet away! Now what do you think says about our hygiene boys?" He asked swaying his head to either side of him, as a round of crackles and laughter sounded off.

The stranger remained stoic and unimpressed at the display of power, as he waited for the men before him to finish.

"What you got on your back there?" inquired Heroth as he stepped up to the young man, towering over him, and eyed him down.

"Don't know what you're talking about." he deadpanned not intimated in the slightest by the hulk of a man breathing into his personal space.

"HA! You hear that boys? He don't know what I'm talking about!" Heroth bellowed to his men who erupted into another round of jeers and laughter before settling down once more.

"Still, you got some balls to be taking us so lightly, reminds me of myself when I was your age, young and brash, thinking I can take on the whole world by myself." Heroth started walking in a circle around the young man, "But looky, here son… "he stopped looming over as he spoke "I was just a damn fool, just like you are now, and we both know how with two dozen of my men here, plus me the strongest of them all, the head honcho you could say, against the one you is gonna turn out!" He finished looking right into the dark-rims of the welding goggles. "Ain't that right boy?"

Heroth then stepped back from him joining his men in the front saying "Empty all of your possessions onto the road, nice and easy son and we might let you go." He finished as some of his men crackled lightly once more.

The stranger eyed the man in front of him and then to the road behind him and after a moment of thought replied, slowly shaking his head "Can't do that."

Heroth looked at the ground then brought a finger to his eye and wiped away a tear as if recovering from a funny joke and said in a low rumble "Drop all your fuckin' valuables… OR DIE!"

The young man was silent and the woman behind the cart was shaking like a leaf.

The gang boss then walked up to him and pushed him in the chest. "You listenin' boy?"

The stranger took a step back at the push, but held his ground and returned to his previous position. "Am now." He said as he addressed the bulky man. "You listening to me?"

"Yeah" replied Heroth slightly amused.

"Good… good" he affirmed, then talking in a slightly more aggressive voice he continued "Put that hand on me again, and you won't be getting it back." he finished loud enough to be heard by all present.

"BWAHAHAHAHA!" bellowed Heroth once more as his bandits joined in on the laughter, "Can you believe this fuckin' kid?" he asked his men.

"Alright…" Heroth settled down as his men did likewise, "You wanna do it the hard way…" he said softly reaching towards the his shoulder.

But it never came close; in a flash of white and the whistling of steel, the hand had been severed from the gang boss's body.

To say that anyone there was surprised would be an understatement, the whole group was dumbfounded as Heroth looked at his freshly made stub and back to the stranger as he whispered quietly "How'd you do that?" Heroth stepped back and kneeled down on the path holding his stub whining to his men "He just cut my hand off!" he sobbed, the group numbly looked from their boss to the stranger and back again.

"What are you waitin' for?" Heroth screamed at his men through throbs of pain "KISS HIM!"

The men looked at their boss then each other as one asked aloud. "What'd he say?"

"He's in shock…" The young man addressed the group taking a defensive stance and drawing his arms out from under his cloak. "I think he meant kill him…" he finished as he produced two combat knives and held them backwards in murder's stance.

The group soon recovered from their initial shock and charged at the young man weapons of all shapes and sizes drawn,

The first to reach the stranger stabbed at him with a spear, but he jumped up and slammed his body weight on the spear's tip, causing it to ram into the ground pole-vaulting the spearmen upwards as the boy jumped up once more and slashed the man across the throat with lightning fast speed before landing on the ground again as the helpless heap landed behind him. "One…" he started.

A few swordsmen tried attacking him all at once, but he weaved around their heavy attacks like it was nothing and decapitated all of them with one continuous slash from his knife, their blood spraying all over the ground as their bodies and heads toppled to the dirt. "Two, three, four, five…" he continued.

"You bastard!" another bandit screamed as he held up a two-handed axe and swung over his head with all his might at the young man, attempting to cleave him in two.

"Hnn… too slow…" he countered; the man might as well have been moving in slow-motion as he sidestepped the bandit to the left and delt a devastating right uppercut up his nose and lifting him off the ground, sending his the cartilage right through his nasal cavity into his frontal lobe killing him instantly. The goggled man watched as the body tumbled to the ground a small distance away. "Six…" he smirked.

"What is this guy?" one of the bandits asked with a look of horror.

"Who cares? He's just one man! He can't take us all!" another replied slightly inspiring the remaining bandits.

"Is that so..." wondered the stranger aloud, "I guess we'll just have to test that theory…" He retook his position as seven of the men charged him all at once, their various weapons drawn. "Fools…" he whispered quietly, disappearing in a flash.

"Where'd he-"one bandit started but he never finished as his stomach was suddenly cut wide open revealing all the organs inside as they toppled out unto the path splattered with the man's blood as he fell over.

"What the-" another started but he too was cut short as the top half of his head was cut clean off leaving a fountain of blood spurting as the body fell to its knees and hit the ground with a thud.

"What the hell is happening!" A bandit screamed as he looked on as four more were cut down in similar fashion, before feeling the blade in his heart and tumbling over himself.

The remaining bandits heard the voice from the trees saying in a sing-song matter, "Seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve…!"

"God damn you! You son of a whore! You bastard! You-" another bandit raged but was cut down the same as his comrades with a knife lodged in the base of his skull as he heard his last words he would ever hear. "That was unkind of you to insult my mother like that, such language..." the boy hissed into the bandit's ear.

By now the bandits were in a panicked frenzy as they see the one who had been insulting the boy topple to the ground with a thud.

Heroth was still on his knees seemingly oblivious to the fact that his gang had lost about half its members and were still losing them, as he huddled by himself in the middle of the massacre, a few more of his cronies innards came flinging past him as a head rolled to a stop in front of him its eyes full of the horror and fear it had felt shortly before it's owner's end.

"Wait… please no…" cried one of the bandits right before his ribcage was sliced open for all to see as he fell to the dirt joining his fellow bandits. "Seventeen…" whispered the boy flying past.

"Please spare us!" whimpered the bandit as he threw down his weapon and held up his hands in surrender, only for his hands and head to sliced off creating another blood fountain as it fell lifelessly back to the dirt.

"Spare you, you say? Why should I?" He asked the bandit in front of him as he dug his dagger into his heart.

Looking at the remaining five as they threw down their weapons and ran for the road behind them. "Something tells me this isn't the first time you've tried this trick, ain't that right?" he looked over at the woman, who was now covered along with the cart with blood and organs. "How many have suffered because of you?" he seethed "You have done this for the last time, it's time for you to answer for your sins, just hope that the gods are more merciful to you then I was." He then disappeared in a flash as the remaining bandits were eviscerated beyond recognition.

"Ha, looks like I still got it." the stranger smirked as he stepped past all the guts, cleaning his blade before heading over to the still huddled Heroth. As the bandit leader tried reaching for his severed limb, but the figure kicked it aside just out of reach and squatted down to Heroth's eye level.

"I told you…" the young man started "You weren't getting that hand back."

"Yes, yes you did…" Heroth said weakly as he looked up slightly into the hooded man's face looking deep into the dark rims of the goggles. "Who... are you?" he asked almost as a last request.

The stranger looked at Heroth then pulled back his hood and revealed silver-white short hair that was slightly spiked and seemed to point ahead like pikes. "Well you could say…" he started drawing his knife up with his right hand and preparing to take off the goggles with his left hand. "That I am… the last of a kind." He finished as he pulled off the goggles completely revealing his silvery eyes, then after a moment he plunged his blade into the Heroth's heart and slowly waited as the last of his life slipped out of him before putting back on the goggles and hood and wiping off the blood stained blades on Heroth's shirt. He then searched over the gang boss and found a bag of beras, he looked inside and saw little that would do him good.

He then stood up and gazed around at the carnage around him "_Nothing but crap weapons not good enough to carry around and resell."_ he thought then he looked to the girl who was still huddled behind the cart and shaking like a leaf. He walked over to her and dropped the sack in front of her.

"Here…" He deadpanned "Buy yourself a new cart, for your troubles." He then started to walk off.

"Wait!" she yelled after him "Can I come with you?" she pleaded.

"No." he replied in a monotone voice, he knew he needed to get out of there and fast, with all the fresh guts lying around, yoma were sure to appear soon, he knew it was likely one would find the village a while back, probably impersonate someone and slaughter them all. It wasn't really his business though, they could always hire a warrior to come and save them, and it's not like it was his problem if they lived or died, right? Just more unfortunate casualties in the game of life, right?

"Ah gods damn it…" and so the stranger started back to the village for the impending attack due to his damn conscience. Hopefully all would go as he planned, kill any invading yoma for the next few days, make sure the village is safe, and be on his way without being found out, hopefully all would go smoothly. Unfortunately for him it wouldn't, and he'd be forced to do things he hadn't done in many years, all due to this one act of his conscience.

* * *

><p><strong>So that's the beginning of the story, what will happen next? Maybe click the next button on the bottom of the page. Again feel free to review or contact me for whatever reason. One last thing about the guy and the story, he's in the mountain range of the western quadrant near the border to the central land. He is also about as strong as a greater awakened being when he brings about his yoki to the edge of awakening. So about as strong as Dauf or Rigardo. Some people might think that's an unfair advantage for him to have, but I'm the author here. Also I plan on doing some backstory within the next couple of chapters that will tie in some of the characters from the main story. Hope you all enjoyed reading.<strong>


	2. Ch 2: Something Ominous This Way Comes

**Greetings again readers. Here is chapter two and remember spot the references.**

****I don't own Claymore.****

* * *

><p>Chapter 2: Something Ominous This Way Comes<p>

"…And I say that we don't, they're vile creatures practically related to the beasts!" shouted an enraged villager. This rose the fourth uproar since the start of the meeting, the stranger could not help but look in half amusedly and smirk from the doorway as he tuned in on the conversation as the whole village had gathered for this meeting.

* * *

><p>Apparently the situation was worse than the stranger had first suspected, by the time he had gotten back to the village he smelt the familiar scent of freshly spilled blood in the air, and upon stepping no more than ten meters into the village spotted the source of the scent.<p>

It was a familiar sight to him and neither shied away nor gawked in horror as he beheld the poor lump of a man, watching as he saw the blood pooling out onto the dirt path. It was the usual; some poor bastard wandered off alone and wound up with a gaping hole in his stomach having his entrails removed by way of yoma feeding.

"_Hmm...Judging by the way he's huddled over he must have had his stomach clawed open and his entrails chewed while he was still alive to use them. Tch. Poor way to go really… you think they would have had at least the decency to kill their prey before sating their hunger" _he thought.

The young man soon observed that others had also noticed this tragedy and had called for help. "_Not that that there's any 'help' for him now…"_ he noted.

Now of course this kind of problem just couldn't go away by pretending it didn't happen and no one was naïve to think that it was. So it was that the town meeting was called and everyone in the village had gathered to discuss in the largest one-room building of the village leader on what to do, which brings us to…

* * *

><p>"But what can we do? Just stand by and let ourselves get slaughtered?" another pleaded.<p>

Another round of mummers went around as mothers held their offspring close and soothed their crying babies as their fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons were clamoring for a spot to say their bit for their families in front of the masses of about six dozen people.

"And what happens if we do call a claymore and she does her job, then what? We'd run ourselves into the ground with poverty!" countered another.

"We must decide on a course of action!" The village leader boomed as he rose; a mostly unimposing man in his fifties with balding hair and a bushy beard, and though his body looked slightly frail, his body spoke of age and wisdom that most anybody would respect.

"If I may…" started the stranger from the back of the building still leaning against the door frame, the cross-like object on his back just barely scraping the farm's top as he straightened up and entered. "It seems that you only have two options here…" he continued slowly walking past the onlookers of his appearance, as he made his way to the desk in front where the village leader stood. "… contact the Organization for a warrior and live in slight poverty, or be slaughtered like sheep as you sit back unable to do anything as you all fall dead, one by one." He finished looking from the dark rims of his goggles into the brown orbs of the village chief.

"That's bullshit!" A young man barked from the side, slightly drawing the attention of the stranger as he observed him from behind from his dark rims. "My family and I have lived here for generations and have never once been attacked by yoma! We've endured worse than this and we shall continue to do so now, besides how bad can they really be? I mean there's about seventy of us and one of them! What could they possibly do against those kinds of odds?" he asked, full of the stubbornness that only farmers knew.

"You ever face a yoma kid?" asked he quietly with a downcast gaze at the floor, before slowly raising his head facing and walking towards the young man. "They have powers you could scarcely imagine…" he started, grabbing the young man by the collar. "They can stretch their limbs to keep you from escaping, their speed and strength easily outmatches anything you people could pull off, and their razor sharp teeth and claws are for rending your skin and eating your guts!" He continued "But that's not even the worst part, no, the worst part is that they could shape shift to look like anyone here, you, me… anyone… your own family members could be yoma just waiting to feast on your flash and you wouldn't even know it, until it's too late." He finished letting go of the collar and letting the young man stumble back a little before falling to the ground.

"_Pssht… 'worse than yoma' worst thing he's probably had is a cold winter or a bad cold."_ He thought as he returned to his original position in front of the leader.

"My point is…" the stranger started again continuing from before "…you got a problem that needs addressed, and fast, from what I know yoma don't like traveling in packs, usually just makes for more competition and less food, and a single yoma won't kill you all at once, they like fresh guts to feed on, and for a single yoma your town could last it decades. But they will form up against larger numbers of people, like what you got here, and then it won't be one death but two, then four, then eight, until you've dwindled down to two or three dozen and they gather in force and finish off the rest." he concluded with grim sentiment as a hush fell over the gathering.

The pause and pregnant silence that followed was soon shattered as shouts of concern, anger, and desperation were voiced at once in a chaotic chorus.

"Who the hell do you think you are anyways?" another villager asked him, obviously not at all amused by the situation and the stranger's lack of tact.

"I'm just the guy who knows how to survive." he quipped. "I have been around the block more times then you could imagine." The silence once again resumed before he continued "I have seen whole villages just like this one overrun and slaughtered, you don't know me, but I know you or at least your type, afraid of poverty and the presence of strangers you don't know, rather than the immediate threats staring you in the face, ready to gut you. You think that the poor bastard out there was thinking about how much money he had left while his guts were being eaten? I doubt it, chances are he was thinking about how his life was going to end that day and how he'd never see his loved ones again, or how he knew he probably wouldn't be the last to be killed. What about his family? His wife and children? You think that they're concerned about the cost of killing the monster or just the fact that one of their loved ones is dead and gone, while the beast that killed him still roams about, just waiting to finish the rest of them off?" He finally stopped and the silence once again reigned, then from the back where the women and children were came the soft sobbing he was looking for.

Walking past he came upon the woman in the back with short brown hair who held her head in her hands as her young daughter, only a toddler with her light brown hair in her eyes covering her face, held tight her mother's dress as she buried her face in it.

The stranger then put his hand on the woman's shoulder and she looked up, her eyes stained with the tears of recent crying. As he whispered softly enough only for her and her daughter to hear "I'm sorry for your loss… believe me, I know what it means to lose someone close to you…" the woman nodded her head and looked down to her daughter and back again as she gazed on the sad smile her gave her.

The woman then spoke up "He's right…" she started wiping the fresh tears from her face and facing the assembly before her. "Joad was a good man, and he deserves better than what he got. I don't know much about those claymores, but if they can slay the monster that killed my husband… then that's enough for me."

The assembly murmured further amongst themselves until the village chief slammed his palms down on the table drawing the attention of everyone present.

"It is decided then… we will send a messenger out to retrieve a claymore." The chief announced resolutely.

There were still some mummers after the fact, but it had been decided, a claymore was to be summoned. As the meeting concluded and the assembly piled out, the chief pointed at the stranger and made a gesture to stay, he complied.

The Chief looked him over before beginning to speak, gesturing to his men standing at the door to wait outside, the guards looked at each other then back at the chief before nodding their heads making sure to glare dangerously at the stranger before they left, their body language saying "if anything's amiss, you're dead", but he felt neither threatened nor interest at the guard's aggression as he gazed at the chief.

"So tell me young man… who are you? If I may ask." questioned the chief motioning for the young man to sit in the chair behind him, as he himself sat down.

"Ah… yes allow me to formally introduce myself…" he started as he stood up to full height. "I am the great traveler of far and wide, going from the northern slopes of Alphonse to the southern grasslands of Mucha, I am the great Eli!" The boy paused taking a deep bow and crossing his arm over his body.

"Un-huh." stated the chief flatly. "…and just where are you from 'The Great Eli'?"

"You can call me just Eli sir, and nowhere in particular. I am a wanderer and a nomad good sir! A good samaritan who helps out villages in need, and let me tell you good sir, you are in a shit-load of trouble if you got a yoma infestation." He stated with pride still standing before the chief.

"Well then 'Just Eli', I suppose that we of this town owe you our thanks…" started the chief "People here can be stubborn and stingy, but I believe you are correct. We cannot allow this to be as it is, and although it will cost us dearly, at least we will still have our lives, I'll send a messenger out immediately, hopefully have a claymore here before the day after next." finished the chief in a half-hearted thank you kind of way.

"Fantastic to hear sir! Now if you don't mind, I am going to go find the town's inn, I have need of rest, and this seems like a better place to find somewhere to sleep then outside on the ground." Eli stated as he started towards the door.

"Wait, before you go, what's on your back there and just how do you know so much about yoma?" questioned the chief.

"Now, now, if I told you all my secrets what would I have left?" replied Eli with a grin.

The chief wanted to inquire further, but he had a point, there were some things you just kept to yourself, after all he knew that the young man meant no harm towards the village, otherwise he would have just let them be massacred by the yoma.

"Well alright then, but make sure to buy the most expensive room they got! Help us pay for this claymore idea of yours!" The chief shouted after him, the only reply being a wave goodbye without looking back.

* * *

><p>The inn was also the bar in the village, looking more like a log cabin in the woods then the local pub, but Eli had no complaints. As he stepped in a wave of hot air hit him in the face as he inhaled the familiar smells of alcohol and pipe smoke, they were like old friends to him. He smiled as he inhaled the fumes; it had been a long time since he had been in a pub. He went over to the bartender and asked for a room, paid the fee then took a bottle of the strongest liquor to his room, once alone he took a swig while taking in the room, it had one window, one bed and a footstool plenty of standing room for about seven or eight people to fit in at a time.<p>

Eli kicked off his boots and removed his cross-looking object from his back, his cloak, vest, vambraces, and shirt, as he laid on the bed half-naked with his gloved hand slowly moving around on bandages on his abdomen, he thinking on what his next move should be.

"_Hmph…"_ his thoughts turning to their true nature of seriousness _"What should I do now? I could slay that yoma easy, but that might just be the scout; what if there are more that come to take its place? Smash one bug and the rest swarm over. Or worse if there's an awakened being ring leading this whole thing, it might get more complicated. I could handle just about anything that comes my way, but I would probably be forced to release my yoki, and I hear that the Organization has the best sensor they've had in generations 'God-Eye' something- or- other would feel me, and then I'd be really screwed. So many, many years of yoki suppression out the window. Ah well…guess I'll just have to wait and see what the warriors of today got up their sleeves. Wonder what generation they're up to by now? Must be at least over one-hundred fifty by now but... Bah, nearly two centuries of life and I still feel like I know nothing, ah well, might as well wait around on this warrior and see if she needs a hand, because something tells me my years of hiding are drawing to a close." _With that last thought he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>Eli woke up early the next morning and felt around making sure no one made off with any of his possessions as he put his hand on his goggles making sure they were still there. A lesson he had learned long ago was not to show silver eyes, it was a dead giveaway that something was off and only lead him to trouble, usually by way of lynch mob. Next he reached down with his gloved hand and made sure his bandages were still in place and his "stigmata" as the Organization called it, was also well hidden. With two of his greatest secrets still sufficiently hidden he continued to go about his morning routine of checking that his possessions were all still there. His hair wasn't much of a problem, it was unusual but not unheard of for a person to have white-silverish hair, so usually he had no problem showing it to anyone, besides no one suspected of any white haired guys of being claymores it was "impossible" after all. After being satisfied that he hadn't been robbed during the night, he began putting on his usual attire and headed out for the day.<p>

He decided to wait on a bench near the entrance to town, size up what this generation had to offer, and so he waited with his bottle of booze taking a swig every few minutes.

* * *

><p>It was also noon when Eli finally felt the familiar presence of a warrior's yoki. He was quite talented in sensing it and had learned how to sense without releasing his own energy within about twenty-five meters. He knew if he released more of his power he could sense nearly every yoki for a great many miles around, but that would also put him on the map for anyone who might be watching, so he never dared to try.<p>

He watched as the warrior as she entered the village and made notes on everything about her. She wore the usual claymore uniform, a light gray two-piece suit, with a mock-neck dickie marked with her symbol near the base of her throat. On top of that she wore steel sabatons, metal vambraces and pauldrons with a reinforced fauld with a short gray cape. It reminded him of his own uniform when he still worked for the Organization. She had white-blonde short hair parted down the middle with one side tucked behind her ear. Her yoki wasn't much, if he had to guess she was probably ranked somewhere around the forties range. She had a personality that seemed to clash with her rank, he could tell even as the other villagers slinked away from her in awe and fear; she was arrogant, full of herself. He could also discern just by looking she was a hot-head who probably did more diplomacy from the end of a sword than with words. Still there was something else he could tell about her as well; she was determined, loyal, and more upbeat than most warriors he had come across.

She was walking by and looked in his direction, he looked away then pulling his hood deeper over his head, after staring a moment longer she walked on towards the chief's house. He let out a sigh as she was finally out of sight. _"Shit! That was way too close. If I hadn't erased my yoki just then, I would have been found out!"_ Eli had spent a great many years running and hiding from the Organization, so naturally one of the first things he learned was yoki mastery, and it took him years but he finally managed to be able to suppress his energy nigh completely. This enabled him to travel fairly freely, but he still could not change his eye or hair color causing suspicion to rise every time he entered a village. For this reason he wore the welding goggles, the was glass very dark and hid his eyes very well, although years of hiding his eyes this way had caused them to become ultra-sensitive to light, enabling him effective night vision as a side effect, as well as partial blindness in the daylight. The yoki suppression drug the Organization made was effective at what it did, slowed the yoki flow to an almost standstill, even returned the eye color, but it took away all the yoki sensing abilities and he would rather wear the goggles practically 24/7 then take the chance of being taken out by a simple yoma who caught him off guard. No normal sensor could sense his yoki if he was suppressing it, they would have to be a genius sensor to find his yoki. Even if they did sense him they would have to be close enough to sense the faint traces of his yoki, at least within his twenty-five meter range and he had a fail-safe in place in case that ever happened.

* * *

><p>A few hours later the warrior was making rounds around town, on the hunt for yoma while Eli just sat in mild irritation. <em>"Come on already! Are you serious? You can't feel him? He's right over there!" <em>he practically tried to engage in telepathy with the warrior as she tried to figure out who the monster was, while Eli sat in his same bench intently looking at the yoma in the guise of a middle aged man, then to the warrior and back again several times. He was tempted to go over and just kill the beast and be done with it, but he wished to retain some semblance of anonymity. So he waited as the yoma wandered around and Eli just sat hands clasped tight together and against his lips as he suppressed the urge to slaughter the little beast.

Finally, after a another half-hour of waiting and the yoma still hadn't left and she still couldn't find him, Eli got up and walked over to the warrior, who didn't seem to be paying attention to his presence as he approached. He managed to sneak up right behind her as she was looking away to the other side of the village, in the exact opposite direction where the yoma, at least the nearest one, was.

"_Hmm…"_ thought the warrior as she gazed from person to person _"Which one are you?"_ suddenly she felt a tapping on her shoulder pauldron and with the her usual "act first" attitude and her training kicking in, immediately turned around and punched Eli right in the nose just as he was about to open his mouth to speak.

Eli, who was about to give his tip to the warrior, was now on his knees clutching his face as a slight trail of blood started to run down from it. _"By Teresa and Clare! That bitch has got an arm!"_ he thought as shock waves of pain reverberated through his body and reconvened back at his nose.

"Ah shit! Sorry bout' that." started the warrior bending down to help him up as he still clutched his now broken appendage. "You just caught me a little off guard is all, what were you doing coming up to me from behind anyways?" she questioned her look of mild concern replaced by one of curiosity.

Eli held up a hand then a finger to ask for one moment then he replied in a newly acquired nasally voice "You know I was just in the neighborhood when suddenly I see this woman in shining armor and I think to myself 'My what a damsel, she seems to be in distress, maybe I could do something to help her out.'" He finished the blood from his nose seeping through the spaces in his fingers as he held it in place.

"Oh? And how could you help me?" she asked now somewhat intrigued.

"_Give me a break, trying to act all high and mighty after that little 'accident'?"_ he thought as he still held his nose. "Well look…" he continued on in his nasally voice "You see that guy over there?" he pointed at the yoma disguised as a human.

"Yeah?" she said waiting for him to continue.

"Well I've been watching that guy all day, and I must say he look suspicious, I think he might be that yoma you were looking for." He finished as she looked at Eli then to the man and back.

"Un-huh… we'll see about that." She said walking towards the yoma disguised as a human, leaving Eli behind her by a few steps as she closed her eyes and extended her yoki out and felt the familiar presence of a yoma's yoki surrounding the man that the stranger had pointed out.

"Hey! You were right! But how did you…? She started asking turning around again only for the young man in the hood and goggles to have vanished. She wondered slightly where he was, but first thing's first. She rushed the yoma and cleaved it in two before it could react.

The initial shock from the people around her was apparent, but soon faded as the yoma returned to its original form. The warrior looked from the yoma body then around the village trying to spot the stranger to no avail. _"Who was that and how did he know who the yoma was?"_ she made note to watch out for him the next time she saw him.

Meanwhile on the other less populated side of the village near one of the other entrances was Eli as he crouched behind a building still holding his broken nose in his hands. _"Okay, one…,two…"_

_**SNAP**_

"_Gods damn it all that hurts!" _he thought as he snapped his nose back into place and let his natural regenerative powers take it from there, wiping the blood from his upper lip.

"_Still…"_ he thought standing up once more peering around the bend watching for the warrior, who undoubtedly was searching for him to find out how he knew whom the yoma was. _"She wasn't too bad, took the bastard out in one swing no less and without him even reacting. Maybe this generation isn't too bad after all."_ he thought with a slight smirk as he went back to his room at the inn.

However Eli wasn't the only one watching as a shadow slipped away in an alley shortly after witnessing the events that took place and took off into the underbrush of the forest.

* * *

><p>As the yoma made its way through the forest it arrived at a cave, and entered making its way deep into the bowls arriving in the den of the local fiend as other yoma watched it make its way to the their leader.<p>

"**Why have you come back here? I sent you to scout out the prey… where is the other one? Didn't I send out two of you?** growled a pair of glowing yellow eyes as it looked out to the recently returned yoma. "Y-yes you did, sire…" stammered the yoma slightly careful to watch his words "But there was a problem with the plan, some warrior came and slayed him! Saw the whole thing too! Some stranger just walked up, pointed him out and she just slayed him! I was lucky to make it back to report sire…" then there was a sudden movement and the slicing of air and silence as the yoma's body slowly split into four pieces, covering the floor in the stench of yoma blood.

"**It seems the time to act has come sooner than expected…" **the voice said reverberating around the cave, "**All of you!** The voice started addressing the remaining yoma in the cave **"Tonight we feast on human flesh!"** there was whooping and growling as the yoma mobilized inside the cave, for they knew they would feast like they had not before.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile in the village the sun was going down, Eli had just had a drink and was walking down the street when suddenly in a flash he was pinned by his shoulder against the wall in a nearby ally, golden eyes staring up into his dark rims, the warrior's claymore drawn against his neck.<p>

"Who are you?" she demanded

"Ah-ah-ah." He said quickly, disappearing in a flash leaving his cloak behind.

She looked from left to right then felt her arm being twisted behind her and was kicked in the hamstrings from behind, causing her to drop to her knees as he pinned her face against the wall.

"It's not polite to ask someone's name before giving your own." he whispered in her ear.

Deciding to play along "Helen." she said.

"I see, and tell me 'Helen' what's your number?" Eli asked he politely, considering the situation.

Looking a little bit surprised at the question, how would someone outside the organization know about the ranking? She answered none the less "Twenty-Two."

This time it was Eli's turn to be surprised. _"Twenty-Two? And her yoki is this low? Gods what has the Organization fallen to?"_ he thought still keeping a tight hold on Helen as she tried to struggle out of his grip to no avail. "Look here 'Helen'…" He started "I'm going to let you go and we can have a nice civilized conversation if you promise to not try something like that again. Agreed?"

Helen nodded and Eli let her up, brushing herself off and retrieving her dropped sword sheathing it, while Eli picked up his cloak and tossed it over his shoulder, now standing face to face with her, as she stopped releasing her yoki and her eyes had returned to their silver color.

"So, go on ask your questions, I know you must have loads of em'." he stated plainly.

"Okay, then… Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Eli, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He bowed slightly.

"I'm sure… What are you?" she continued ignoring the bow with her arms crossed.

"A simple good samaritan who goes from village to village, doing what I can to help the people." he stated, smiling as he did so.

"How noble of you…" she deadpanned then grabbing the hilt of her claymore, "Now who or what are you really? What's with the silver hair? What's with the goggles? What's that on your back? And how the hell did you know that man was a yoma?" she demanded pressing him for answers.

"_Geez, what's with the 'Tough-girl' routine?"_ he questioned looking at her in silence.

Before he could answer her though he sensed approaching yoki and turned his head in that direction, at least three dozen small fries, average yoma he suspected and one larger one near the back, if he had to guess an awakened being was leading the slaughter. _"Damn, I hate it when I'm right._" He thought as Helen continued staring intently at him expecting answers. _"The sun's down too, these people will be slaughtered if I don't act quickly!"_

"Hey! Don't go ignor-" she stopped mid-sentence and turned her head in the direction of the fast approaching yoma, sensing them approach as well. She widened her eyes as her mind quickly went thought the same thought processes Eli had.

"We got to move fast!" she stated suddenly riddled with slight fear and hesitation the approaching menace. She turned to face Eli, but found he was gone.

"HEY!" he shouted from above she looked up to find him on the rooftop. "I'm going to try and warn the villagers! You go out and meet them, I'll be there soon, and don't worry! When all this is over I'll answer your questions." And with that he disappeared out of sight.

"Wai-… fine." She conceded "Let's do this your way."

* * *

><p>"Chief!" Eli rushed in through the chief's door "You got to mobilize the villagers! The yoma are attacking and…" He stopped mid-sentence as he smelled the familiar stench of blood, and looked over to see the chief slumped over in his chair his body clawed and torn apart as well as the bodies of his two bodyguards, their guts spread all over the room as blood stains adorned just about every square inch of the building.<p>

He looked to see three yoma feasting on their entrails as he stared at them. They scrambled to pounce on him, but he merely weaved around their movements with grace and decapitated all three one after another in quick succession with his knives.

"_This is bad…" _He thought _"I got to warn everybody who doesn't already know!"_ and with that he fled out the doorway on his new mission.

* * *

><p>It was absolute chaos.<p>

Helen struck down one yoma after another but they just kept coming in doves and waves. "HYAA!" she shouted bisecting her target. The homes were being deserted and people were dying left and right, bodies were mounting as people were sliced to pieces, their blood and guts covering the once green earth. Some were escaping but most were not, and even those who had managed to get out of their homes in time were being slaughtered, just blood and gore paving the streets.

_This is not good…" _She thought as she cut down yet another yoma, _"I can't keep this up… there are too many of them…" _she thought releasing a little more of her yoki now up to fifty-five percent and looking more and more yoma-like. _"I need more power… and it feels so… good…"_ she thought now up to seventy percent of her yoki energy as she felt the ecstasy of tapping into more power as she slaughtered one yoma after another now in quicker succession and enjoying the carnage all the more.

With the last yoma in her sights killed Helen hungered for more bloodshed. Then she heard a large thump in the forest, then another as the birds in the trees flew away as she saw a silhouette in the trees approaching her.

Then she saw it and sensed the massive yoki it possessed. _"So this is what an awakened being is."_ She thought. _"Can't wait to see what she's made of!"_ she thought her mind filled with blood rage and the ecstasy of nearing her full yoki strength.

"**So…"** the beast bellowed **"I take it it's been you who has been slaughtering my minions?" **The beast was as big as an inn and with the look of a bipedal lizard with razor teeth and sharp claws.

"That's right!" Helen cried at the beast then releasing her yoki even more she passed eighty percent and charged the beast. "Now time to-"

* * *

><p>"-die damn you!" Eli shouted sinking his knife into the last yoma before looking all around. It was a massacre, the yoma had been on the people before they even knew it, and although Eli had managed to kill most of them while the scant survivors fled to the forest, he knew it was unlikely that anyone had really escaped from the yoma's rampage, and those that did were long gone.<p>

He put his hand on his head and wiped the sweat from his brow _"How could this have happened?"_ He looked around at all the buildings destroyed, he knew that he had failed to save this town, and he owed it to them to finish this.

Suddenly he felt a spike in yoki energy he recognized as Helen's where he left her to fight off the other yoma and he sensed another larger yoki right next to hers.

"_Heh, something ominous this way comes. But, have to hurry…"_ He thought moving at full speed towards the yoki "I _can't let her die too!"_

* * *

><p>When he had gotten to the scene he saw the awakened being and in its claw was a black winged lizard-like creature with long appendages hanging lifelessly Eli quickly recognized it as Helen and her yoki was fading fast. <em>"The awakened being must have knocked her out while she was still fully awakening…" <em>he thought _"good, might mean I won't have to euthanize her then." _He thought sheathing his knives.

"Hey, ugly! Put her down!" he barked.

"**You talking to me?"** the being asked.

"Yeah I'm talking to you! There's no one else here, so I must be talking to you!" he shouted.

The beast threw its head back and laughed saying** "You must be the greatest fool in all the land to challenge me!"** throwing the unconscious semi-awakened form of Helen into a tree bleeding slightly as she fell to the ground.

"I guess we'll see about that!" he charged knives drawn as he aimed low for her legs only for her armor to cause the blades to bounce back, as she knocked him away.

"**Ha! It will take more than that to take me down! And if that claymore couldn't do it what makes you think you can?" **taunted the being.

"Heh, I guess you're right…" he said standing up spitting out a little blood. "Guess these just won't "cut" it." He continued, sheathing his knives.

"**Give up and I might give you a swift and painless death."** the being offered in mock sympathy.

"Really? I was just about to offer you the same thing." he replied throwing off his cloak, removing his goggles and grabbing the cross-like object from his back as he removed it from its resting place.

"**Fool! You truly are an idiot!" **she roared charging at him.

"I guess…" he said disappearing in a flash as her right hand was dismembered from her body. "…that you choose "painful"." He finished his eyes now glowing gold with yoki as he glared at her slit eyed releasing ten percent of his power.

"**Impossible!" **she bellowed **"Only warriors should be able to use yoki! What are you? Some type of yoma, an awakened being?"** she questioned charging once more.

"No, not quite." He replied as he disappeared in a flash and cut off her leg left leg, causing her to finally lose balance and fall over.

"**DIE!" **she screeched extending her claws from her remaining hand.

"Heh…" he chuckled as he blocked the claws and moved at inhuman speeds slicing her left arm into bits as her purple blood spilled on the ground.

"**Ugh! How are you able to cut through my skin?"** she roared once more, though much less intimidatingly so in her current state.

"With this" Eli stated as he held out his weapon for her to see. It was the sword of a claymore but the guard was different, straighter instead of the warrior's usual arched guard, and the hilt was covered with bandages instead of the usual grip hilt. But the most striking feature of the sword was the blade itself, longer and broader than other claymore swords, it was also etched with nearly faded runes all over the surface, and line fractures runing all across the blade.

"**Wait! Don't kill me!"** she pleaded **"I won't ever try something like this again! It was the yoma's idea to attack I swear! I'll never bother you again! I'll-"**she stopped as he held out the claymore right between her eyes.

"Such empty words…" he sighed throwing the blade over his shoulder while closing his eyes. "I'll do you a favor and make it quick."

"**Fuck you! You son of a bit-"** she started saying but stopped mid-sentence as her body slowly split down the middle as her blood gushed out onto the forest floor, the last reminder of her existence.

Eli sighed _"I really hope no one was sensing around for any strong yoki just now…" _finding his discarded apparel he rewrapped his blade and returned it to its resting place, then picking up his cloak and goggles and tucking them under his arm, he strode to the tree where Helen laid still. He put his hand over her mouth and felt the slight breeze of her breath. _"Good… she's still breathing. Now…to help her revert."_

With that he straightened her up on the tree so she was sitting upright against it. Eli inhaled deeply as her reached out with his yoki and synced it to hers, dealing with the foreign yoki was slightly difficult, especially in its wild half-awakened state, but after a few minutes of mental focus gained control as he slowly resealed her yoki within her body, her form reverting back from its gargoyle-like state to her human form.

"_There… that should do…"_ noticing now that she was naked he took his cloak out from under his arm and wrapped her in it covering her body more modestly. _"Heh… I guess that will also do. Sorry Helen maybe next time we can have that Q and A."_ He straightened up looking around for her claymore finding laying some ways away impaling a tree. He walked over to it and with little effort removed from the tree walking back and planting it in the ground next to Helen.

"_She'll wake up by morning… I'd better make myself scarce, but first, better see if there are any survivors."_ he made his way back to the village to find it in ruins, the damage had been done almost all the buildings were gone, anyone who was alive was either dying or long gone, off fleeing for their lives to another village.

"_Guess that's it then…"_ he turned to leave when he heard the crying of a small child in a nearby house. He ran over to the entrance only to find it had collapsed whoever was in there was trapped. _"Simple."_

He grabbed the debris and flung it out of the way like he was tossing twigs. After clearing it he stepped into the house and beheld a gruesome sight. There was blood all over the floor as he saw a woman curled in a halfway fetal position her intestines were gone and a little girl in a small white dress was on her knees, crying over the body her eyes filled with tears as they plumed to the floor.

She turned around suddenly and Eli recognized her as the same child who was holding on to the woman's dress who helped him convince the others to hire a warrior. _"Not that that did them much good."_ He thought as he bent down and saw the victim was indeed the same woman.

The girl then looked at him her tears stopping momentarily from staining her face further with eyes filled with the sorrow of loss, something Eli knew all too well. Then she went right back to crying her sobs seemingly even louder than before.

"Hey…" he whispered softly "It's alright now… no one's gonna hurt you." He said trying to comfort her the best he could. She looked at him then stopped crying trying to sniffle up the last of her sobs.

He then held his left hand out to her in a sign of goodwill "My name is Eli. What's yours?

The girl was silent and for a moment he lost faith that she would trust him, then taking his hand she answered wiping her tears away from her eyes "Miata."

"'Miata' what a pretty name." he said smiling softly.

"Yours too." she replied softly, widening Eli's soft smile into a full blown grin, as she stared at him her hair now out of her face revealing sky blue eyes.

"You have very pretty eyes Miata." he replied back.

"You too." she repeated.

"Huh?" Eli was confused for a moment then touched his face and realized he hadn't put his goggles back on. _"Oh crap! She's seen my eyes!"_

"Listen Miata… these eyes are special, they can't be seen by anybody else, so don't tell anyone about them okay? It's our secret." he explained to her trying to make her understand.

"Okay." she replied softly.

After replacing his goggles onto his eyes he asked "Would you like to come with me, Miata?" as he held her hand.

"Okay." she repeated softly.

"Alright then…" he stood up to full height and gripped her under her arms placing her on his back next to the covered blade as she placed her arms around the hilt and his neck. "There we go. Comfortable?"

She nodded.

"Alright then." they moved out of the house and made their way out of the village and walked slowly down the road off towards the rising sun.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile far away in the eastern quadrant of Sutare…<p>

"Report number three, Galatea, what have you to report? asked the one of the Organization's elders Rimuto.

"Sir, everything seems to be unchanged, however…" she paused.

"However, what?" he demanded.

"…however there seems to have been a yoki spike in Lautrec, from what I can tell somewhere near the border to Toulouse." she finished standing at attention.

"I see… and how big was this 'spike'?" he asked.

"It was too far away and I only felt it for a moment before it dissipated, but I'd say it was fairly significant, at least higher than any yoma could produce." she replied.

"I see…" he looked to one of his attendants and drew him near whispering an order in his ear before the attendant nodded and ran off to fulfill his duty.

"You are dismissed." He said with a wave of his hand, she bowed and exited.

As she left Galatea could not help but wonder herself, what was that energy she felt? And how come it hadn't revealed itself earlier? She did not have the answers to these questions but planned on finding them out.

* * *

><p><strong>That is the end of chapter two. Listen everybody who's reading this, be sure to tell others about my story it's what keeps authors like me going. So if you want to continue to read this great story, tell a friend or two the more the merrier! Also there's going to be a lot of backstory in the next chapter so heads-up on that. Also about Helen's released form in my story it never mentions what her awakened form might look like so I made one up, if her true form is ever revealed I'll use it to replace the one I have in the story now. Also if you're wondering why I'm using the terms "warriors" so much it's because they don't refer to themselves as claymores only as comrades and warriors. Also on Eli's age I made him almost two hundred because Riful is about 150 so considering he was from the previous generation I made him older. Also these chapters might be a little late in coming out as I'm doing major research into the claymore universe so I can be as accurate as possible. Because if there's one thing I hate, it's when authors get cannon facts wrong. But don't worry, when they do come out I assure you they will be well worth the wait.<strong> **Also forgive me for my grammar, especially commas believe me English is by far my most hated subject. I hope you enjoyed reading.**


	3. Ch 3: Far Off Memories

**Chapter 3 enjoy, as a side note Eli's past will jump around a bit, so bear with me.**

**I don't own Claymore.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 3: Far Off Memories<p>

"Eli…"

"What?"

"I'm hun-gy…" Miata complained from his back.

"Well, we just had lunch so you'll have to wait for dinner." Eli snapped back.

"But Miata's hun-gy, now!" she whined loudly into his ear.

"I don't care." He echoed back to her, mimicking her whining voice as he peered over his shoulder at her. "You just had lunch not one hour ago, you should have eaten more, and this is what you get."

Eli walked a few more steps down the road before…

"Eli…"

"What, now?"

"Miata's still hun-gy…" Miata continued to moan from his back.

"I am not deaf, believe me Miata, but like I said before we just had lunch and we got to keep movi-" Eli started before he was cut off by a light thumping to his backside.

"What are you doing now?" he asked wearily peering over his shoulder again at the girl.

"Miata's gonna kick Eli until he makes Miata something to eat!" she declared continuing the light assault.

"Uh-huh, well good luck with that." Turning back around to face the road as he continued walking, ignoring the continual light pummeling.

* * *

><p><em>Hours of walking later…<em>

* * *

><p>"Alright this should be a good place to stop." Eli announced walking up to a clearing by a small, but surprisingly deep pond.<p>

"Ehh…" stirred Miata from his back, she had stopped her assault about a half hour in and took a nap on his back the rest of the trip.

"Ah, finally awake are we?" Eli stated taking her off his shoulders and setting her down on the slightly damp grass.

She yawned before taking in her new surroundings, the pond nearby had surprisingly deep and clean water that flowed through it by way of a small stream; you could see one's reflection in it perfectly. Aside from that there were overhanging trees encircling the pond where there was a lack of grass underneath them big enough for a fire where travelers in the past had camped.

It had been six days since the destruction of Miata's village; she had been quiet for the most part still shocked with her parent's demise crying from time to time not that he could blame her, after a few days though she regained her voice with seeming vigor and was getting happier all the time as she opened up to Eli, who wasn't used to it and had a hard time returning the favor. They had traveled much like this, not encountering many villages along the way so they mostly slept by the side of the road till dawn, where Eli would pick up the trail again until dusk. They were making their way east towards the "Holy City" Rabona, if there was one place that Miata would be safe Eli knew it was there. Normally such a trip could have been done in a few days by himself, but with his newfound traveling companion he had to travel much more slowly, about two and a half weeks at the pace they were going. It took especially long with her constant need of food and water and a good night's rest, which were all things he could go a few weeks without feeling adverse effects.

"It's pwetty." She marveled at her surroundings.

Eli gazed around lazily before replying "Yeah… I guess it is."

"Alright, I'm gonna go get some firewood for a fire, you go and get some rocks and put them in a pile under that tree." He pointed to a nearby oak tree next to the pond.

"Okay." She replied as she bent down and tried digging for some rocks.

Eli turned away and walked into the forest underbrush for some wood. He walked a few dozen meters or so when he came upon a newly fallen tree. _"Perfect."_ he removed the blade from his back as he made quick work of the tree; picking up a half dozen pieces and returning his sword to its resting place as he made his way back.

Eli returned to find Miata had found a dozen and a half or so rocks, some the length of her arm while others were only as big as walnuts. "Good job." He said giving her a soft smile, which she returned. He crouched down and placed the largest ones in a circle, then grabbing some of the firewood and placing a few pieces on top of one another. Then grabbing some dried leaves placed them under the logs and pulled out a match, lighting it and tossing it at the pile as it ignited creating a warm and slight glow as the fire slowly engulfed the wood in its orange and red clutches.

"Stay by the fire, I'll be back with your dinner." And with that Eli walked into the woods.

Twenty minutes later Eli stumbled out of the underbrush with a few rabbits and wild turnips, his face and front covered from mud from chasing down his prey. He knelt down next to a tree stump and began skinning the rabbits and peeling the turnips, then cut them to pieces with his knife. He then walked over to the fire and placed two logs right side up across one another from the fire, just barely taller than the flames; he then placed a large flat rock over the fire balancing it on the logs. After that he pulled out an iron bowl from his pocket and walked over to the pond before scooping up some water and placing it on the rock over the fire, tossing in the bits of rabbit and turnip as the water started to boil.

"What Eli making?" she asked as he leaned his sword against the tree before kneeling down taking out a spoon and beginning to stir.

"Rabbit stew. It's delicious, nutritious and will help you grow up big and strong." He stated a-matter-o-factly as he took a sideways gaze at her, not wanting to turn his head from the semi-complexity of his work.

"Aw, but why can't Eli and Miata have more bread and apples like before?" she pleaded.

"Because, one you have eaten all of my bread and apples, and two you're a growing girl and need some protein and whatever the hell is in turnips." he snapped as he stirred and wafted the fumes of his stew into his nostrils making sure that the smell was to his liking.

Miata could also smell the stew from her spot, it smelled bitter and tasteless. Two things that children didn't like to hear about food, that it tasted bad and it was good for you.

Taking the spoon and blowing on it Eli took a sip before smacking his lips to test the taste, he smiled producing another cup, this one smaller and wooden, from another one of his pockets, pouring the soup in the bowl and handing it over to Miata. She smelled it and made a face setting the bowl down next to her.

"Miata doesn't wanna eat that!" she pouted crossing her arms over her chest.

Eli looked at her then back to the pot before walking towards the pond. "That's what's for dinner. If you don't eat it you're gonna go hungry!" he called over his shoulder.

"Where Eli going?" she asked following him with her eyes towards the pond.

"Well, it's been about two weeks since I last washed myself, so I'm going to do that in this pond before the light's out." With that he removed his vest and undershirt along with his trousers and his jumpsuit pants, boots and gloves as he jumped in creating a splash in the pond and let in himself sink in the semi-clear water.

Eli looked around all on himself as he checked his arms, legs, and "other" areas for dirt and debris rubbing it off when he did. He looked at his reflection in the water and cupped his chin moving it around gauging his appearance. He liked his seemingly eternal youth, his hair; facial or otherwise never seemed to grow much so he never needed to cut it, and when it was cut it just grew back to its former length. There were aspects about it he didn't like, like the fact that everybody treated him like he was a kid barely old enough to shave, when he was actually old enough to be their ancestor. He was like an ancient statue, forever stuck in time, never changing appearance.

He reached and touched his back where he felt three clawed scars he got years ago, and though they had faded to almost nothing but very thin, almost unnoticeable white streaks the pain was still fresh in his mind as he thought back to his childhood.

* * *

><p><em>A great many years ago…<em>

* * *

><p>"Huh… it seems pretty quiet today." observed a young Elijah "I wonder what mother and father will think about all the fruit I picked from the orchard today."<p>

Young Elijah was just a simple farm boy back then, with emerald eyes and light brown hair, living with a simple family of his father, mother, and little sister Mira and himself. They lived in a village in Alphonse called Nibelheim near the border to Toulouse, locally famous for their orchards and fruit. Back then they were part of a small but tightly knit community, no one in the village was really different from the other, just simple folk happy to go about their daily lives in peaceful coexistence. It was a simple life, and Elijah was happy.

This was not meant to last though, Elijah's way of life was about to be shattered.

"Mother! Father! I've returned, and I got all this fruit!" he said cheerful opening the door to his house.

_Silence_

"Mother! Father! I said I'm home!" he hollered as he walked through the entrance hall.

_Silence_

"Mother?...Father?" he slowly walked down the hall and turned the corner, only to be met with a horrific scene as his basket of fruit fell to the floor and rolled.

In the dining room was a yoma crouching; slowly chewing on the entrails of his mother with his back turned to Elijah. His father could only be seen as a disembodied head on the floor with his empty exposed torso laying a few feet from it, its features frozen with the last moments of fear that mirrored his mother's.

The yoma hearing the basket drop turned around as it swallowed the last of his mother's entrails down its gullet. **"Ha, it seems my desert has come after the main course! Were these yours?"** it motioned with its head towards the bodies. **"Don't worry they didn't suffer…too much! Ha, and what's even better for you you'll get to see them very soon!" **it threw its head back releasing monstrous sadistic laughter.

Elijah stood in shock his head downcast towards the floor his eyes hidden by his hair. He then looked at his bodies of his parents and then at the yoma his eyes filling with tears and his body filling with fathomless sorrow and unspeakable rage.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" he cried as he charged at the yoma.

"**HA!"** the yoma swatted him away into the kitchen sending his body crashing against the wall as the hooks that held the knife holder fell to the ground, scattering the blades everywhere across the floor. Eli reached for a long one and hid it under his stomach as he laid on it.

The yoma walked over and with three of its claws dug deeply into Eli's back causing him to scream out in utter pain as wave after wave of the grueling sensation passed through him, slowly making the pain more intense as the beast cruelly cut at a snail's pace down his back, making each second a living hell. He came close to passing out from the pain, but his anger wouldn't let him fall unconscious just yet.

It then reeled back its claws as it put them to its mouth licking his blood and laughing once more. **"Mmm… you taste almost as good as your mother did!"** it crackled once more leaning closer to Elijah ready to go for the kill.

"ARGHHH!" he screamed as he whirled on the yoma with his concealed blade, cutting it across the eyes.

"**ARGH! My eyes!" **it howled stepping back in pain and confusion, holding one of its hands to its eyes while flailing around the other blindly trying to rend him.

Taking one step up from the ground he lunged at the beast flying just under its claw and sinking the blade into its thigh as it fell over in continued pain. Elijah's cries of pain and rage were mixed with the yoma's howls of confusion and pain as he sunk the blade over and over again into the beast's chest until at least he heard the death rattle and it laid still, pulling out the blade a small fountain of purple blood sprayed him in the face as his own blood seeped from his back and onto the floor their colors mixing.

Elijah stumbled to his feet leaning against the wall for support as he made his way down his hallway; he hadn't seen his sister Mira so she must have been safe. _"Good at least she's safe… but I can't go on much longer my vision's fading, my legs and chest feel heavy…is this the end?"_ his last thought concluded as he fell to his knees before the doorway.

Then he heard the sound of the soft walking of boots on dirt as Elijah looked up weakly as a man dressed in all black stood before him in the doorway, a smirk plastered his otherwise plain face. Elijah then fell on his face unconscious from blood loss. The man in black then whistled as a messenger appeared by his side. "Tell them to have another sample ready, I think I've found an interesting one."

* * *

><p>That was when Elijah's life as a farm boy ended and his life as a warrior for the Organization began. He was made to go through all the cruelties the Organization had to offer, surviving the initial implantation was brutal as every nerve in his body wanted to scream out in pain for hours on end; it bordered on torture, but he survived. His slightly newer appearance was a small shock to him his once brown hair and emerald eyes had been replaced by colors of white and silver, his once meek and slender appearance had been replaced by a tall and muscular build that made him look in his twenties instead of fourteen. He quickly adjusted though as he was put through extensive training in swordplay and mastery of martial arts with the other hopefuls. When it came down to his final test he passed with flying colors, far surpassing his peers. He was given a rank, a symbol, a claymore, and even a special position as the Organization's eye thanks to his gifted ability of yoki sensing and yoki control, and from then on he would be No. 6 Elijah.<p>

Years after he became a warrior he longed for his hometown of Nibelheim, but being the "eye" of the organization was not let out of their sight often but when he finally got the chance he jumped at it and rushed off ready to tell his sister that he was still alive, hoping that she'd be proud of all that he had accomplished, and be happy he was alive. It had been many years since his departure to become a warrior and all he could think about was his sole living relative. She was the only thing that had kept him going during all the times he had wanted to quit, and now that he was able to go outside again he just had to see her.

As he walked into his old hometown he saw that little had changed except for one thing, everyone was afraid of him. "What's the matter?" he asked an aging man.

"Please leave me be…" the old man wheezed weakly, limping away.

"_That's strange… I don't sense any yoma anywhere near here. I wonder what they're all afraid of."_ He wandered around street after street with similar looks of fear and disgust shot at him.

"Excuse me ma'am." he said tapping a woman's shoulder.

She turned around and cowered in his sight "Please don't hurt me." She begged.

"Hurt you? I'm not gonna do that, I just need directions, can you point me to where a women named Mira lives?" he asked politely.

She pointed down the road at a building built similarly to the rest, but had a slightly different color then all the rest of the buildings to tell it apart.

"Oh, ok thanks… I guess." He turned from the women walking down the road. _"What was her deal?"_

Coming up to the house door he knocked at the door as he heard steps coming from inside leading to the door before it opened wide enough to see the contents inside. A woman in her late twenties stood in the doorway with a look of slight curiosity as well as slight intimidation. "Can I help you?"

"Mira, is that you?" Elijah questioned squinting making sure it was still his little sister from so long ago.

"Who are you?" she asked now hiding slightly behind the door.

"It's me! Elijah! Your big brother!" he beamed at her, she only became more frightened.

"What are you talking about? My brother Elijah is dead, he was killed in a yoma attack along with my mother and father and his body was never recovered." She stated now with a look of confusion.

"What do you mean? I'm right here! It's me, Elijah!" he said pointing to himself.

"I don't know who you are claymore, but you must be deeply confused, even if he was alive my brother would be in his thirties by now and he had the deepest emerald eyes and brown hair. You look nothing like that." she turned as she was shutting the door.

"Wait! Please…" He said grabbing her arm and pulling her slightly out the door.

"What are you doing? Let go of me!" she shrieked trying to break his grip to no avail.

"Please, wait let me explain…" he pleaded.

"I said 'LET GO!' " she screamed slapping him across the face, his grip fell and she walked back in the doorway rubbing her wrist as her husband came taking a slightly intimidated stance in front of her.

Elijah put his hand to his cheek and then looked over her husband's shoulder into her eyes. "Please, wait you don't understand…" he pleaded once more.

"We don't want any trouble claymore…" The husband said his voice slightly shaking, grabbing a pitchfork from the wall and holding it out in front of him.

"Please, Mira…it's me…your brother…Elijah…" he pleaded for the last time softly.

"Just leave me be… monster." she said coldly. And with that the door was slammed shut in his face as he heard the chink of a lock being locked.

"_Monster…monster…monster."_ the word echoed in his head as he dropped to his knees and stared shocked at the dirt. He stood outside the house beside himself for a few minutes, then slowly picked himself up and walked out of his hometown forever.

The last of his family had rejected him, fine; if that's how it was then he would serve the ones who had given him this power without question. Elijah returned to the Organization anew, he was cold, merciless, and unfeeling even more so than any other warrior, a perfect human weapon. He would do whatever it takes to get the mission done; as long as the goals were met anything was permitted. He was a man who was dead to his feelings beyond any other earning him the nickname "Elijah of the Empty Heart." He had once overheard that a town called Nibelheim in Alphonse near the border to Toulouse, was overrun with yoma and destroyed; no survivors. A village famous for their fruit and orchards, but Elijah didn't care; they were just another anonymous village gone, he had a job to do now and there was nothing that would distract him from it.

* * *

><p>Eli opened up his eyes from the elongated memory and came back to the reality around him; he looked down and smiled bitterly at his own reflection. That scar had represented when he first became part of the Organization. <em>"…and this one is for when I quit."<em> He thought looking at his now bare right hand; it was alien-looking with only three fingers left on it; his middle, index, and thumb fingers while a large very faded white scar ran down his middle finger to his wrist where his ring finger and pinky should have been. The fingers were slightly elongated and spaced from each other as compensation for the loss of the other two fingers giving it a more monstrous appearance, but it wasn't any disability, he had learned quickly how to use it just as well as when he still had all five digits. All it really was good for was giving folks a scare, which is why he had been forced to stitch the index and middle fingers as well as the ring and pinky fingers together for his right-handed gloves, so no one could tell the difference when he had them on.

He touched the scar on his hand and thought back once again to the past.

* * *

><p><em>Some time later...<em>

* * *

><p>"Elijah of the Empty Heart, step forward." Elijah did as he was told as he stood before the council of the Organization's elders. "You are the last of the male generation…"the head elder continued "Thus we deem that you with all your years of service and rank as the number one are qualified for the task we have set before you."<p>

"What would you have me do?" he asked in a monotonous voice.

"There had been reports of a great beast terrorizing the villages to the west in Lautrec, we want you to take five other warriors and deal with this threat." The elder replied as five female warriors appeared behind Elijah.

From the right they are numbers two through six; Iris No. 4, Juno No. 5, Minerva No.6, Layla No.3, and Riful No. 2.

"Sir, with all due respect I believe I am enough I do not need the help of these…_women_. Elijah started but the elder held up his hand.

"That will be enough Elijah. You will do as you are told and lead these girls to Lautrec to eliminate the threat." He ordered.

"As you say…" Elijah bowed before turning to the women and motioning with his head to follow him as they exited the room and left the building towards Lautrec. It took them a day and a half but they arrived in Lautrec by a clearing by the forest.

Elijah stopped as he waited for his "teammates" to arrive, in a few moments they appeared before him as he stood with his arms crossed "Where do we go to kill this "great beast"?" he noticed they were now in a flanking position around him, their swords drawn as they settled in their respective stances.

From the middle came Riful "It is you Elijah, you are the beast that must be eliminated." She said with a coy smirk.

"And why is that?" Elijah asked his voice still calm and monotonous taking no stance nor drawing his sword, his arms still crossed across his chest.

"You are the last of the males Elijah; the others all awakened or died within years of the creation of the first generation. Even you almost awakened, but were somehow able to pull back with your mastery of yoki." Riful sneered at him. "The Organization knows that in time you will awaken fully and then there will be no going back." she stated pointing the blade tip at him. "So we five have been ordered to take you out to a secluded area, and eliminate you."

"I see… and you're all sure that you want to challenge me?" he stated looking into each one of their eyes. They each nodded and began to release their yoki as Riful continued "Now what will it be? Die quietly with some dignity as a human? Or as a dog being put down?"

"You can try, but don't expect me to show any mercy." He stated monotonously his arms still crossed, his face revealing nothing.

"Ha! You're just a relic of the past! Disappear before the future!" she released her own yoki and charged at him the point of her blade aimed towards his head.

"Hmph." he blocked the blade point in a flash as his sword was drawn, then kicked her in the stomach sending her flying past the group as she skidded to a stop. "I'll make this quick." he said as he rushed at the warriors.

Elijah sighed shaking the blood and gore from his sword before sheathing it as the battle had finally ended, it hadn't lasted three minutes, but it was pure carnage all around him. The remains of bloodied bodies and claymores were scattered all across the clearing. The warriors had been strong and talented, but they had no experience, something Elijah had in spades.

The warrior he had known as Juno was quickly dealt with; bisected across her waist as her bottom half fell back and her top fell forward on its front, her claymore falling beside her.

Another, Minerva, had fought him fiercely and even managed to cut him along his stomach, but he showed her no mercy as he quickly chopped off her arms and proceeded to eviscerate the rest of her body, leaving little more than hunks of gore and her arms still gripping her blade as her only evidence of her existence.

Iris and Layla had tried to take him on at the same time, but it was futile. Elijah had easily parried their blows and instantaneously pierced Layla through her heart before pulling it out in a flash as he decapitated Iris and her body fell limp on the ground. After which he walked over to the still breathing Layla and ended her misery with a downward thrust through her chest.

Riful was the last; fighting him tooth and nail as she desperately tapped into her yoki power to beat him. But it too was futile as he dismembered her left arm and right foot, causing her to fall and lean on her blade for support.

Elijah himself was not much worse for wear a few light cuts here and there but being a defensive type the bleeding had already stopped and the stomach wound was already half-way healed. He was making his way from the clearing when he heard Riful shout at him.

"How?" she screamed "How could we lose so easily to you?"

"Simple, you were weak." He replied coldly walking away from her.

"Wait! Where are you going?" she asked.

He turned to look at her before coming over to kneel in front of her "Don't know…but I need you alive to tell the Organization of your failure." he stated coldly looking emotionlessly into her eyes.

She gritted her teeth and pulling herself up swung her blade at him as he raised his right arm and lopped off his ring and pinky finger before trying to take a stance in her weakened form, the blood running down her face.

Elijah disappeared in a flash and cut off the legs of Riful as he kicked them away from her reach and she fell on her face, trying to prop herself up with her remaining appendage.

"Like I said, I need you alive, but I don't mind slowing you down a little and if you hurry you can get to your legs before long, oh and one more thing." he said as he flipped her over on to her back with his foot and leaned in close to her ear. "If you come after me, I won't leave enough of you to identify the pool of blood and gore."

"But this…" he continued holding up his now bloodied right hand, "I'll remember this, so when we next meet you'll remember me." He turned from her sheathing his sword now walking away, "Oh…yes, and congratulations on being the new number one." and with that he disappeared into the forest as Riful let out a cry of pain and frustration.

* * *

><p><em>Present Day...<em>

* * *

><p>Eli opened his eyes once more as the memory faded. He looked at his right hand again, <em>"Maybe I am a monster."<em> His train of thought was interrupted by a sudden splash behind him as he turned to see the cause of the disturbance.

Miata had jumped in the water and was struggling to stay above it.

"_Holy crap!"_ he rushed over to her letting her hold onto his arm as he walked into shallow waters so she could stand still submerged from the neck down.

"What did you do that for?" he asked giving her an incredulous look.

She looked up at him with big eyes "It looked fun." she said.

"Don't ever worry me like that again young lady!" he scolded her. He stopped just then before thinking _"Is this what it's like to have a daughter?"_ he wondered.

She gave a downcast gaze to the water "Miata's sorry." She sniffed a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Hey, it's uh… alright, don't cry?" he said in a apologetic and slightly confused tone patting her softly on the head. Even after centuries of life children were one thing he didn't have a lot of experience with.

Miata sniffed again and looked up at him again "Miata just thought we could take a bath together, like Miata and papa used to do." She said softly.

Eli now getting a grasp of the situation "Look Miata I'm not your father… and-" he stopped as she started to cry more.

"Alright, fine, just stop crying okay? Wait here." He turned towards the shore and walked over grabbing his undershirt and dunking it in the pond before walking back over and handing it to her. "Here, I don't have a wash cloth, but you can use this."

Miata took the shirt and looked back at him "What?" he asked now a little peeved.

"Papa used to wash me." she said plainly looking into the dark lens of his goggles.

"Look Miata, I know you aren't used to doing things on your own, but bathing should be one of them starting right now." He said quickly.

"Why?" she asked innocently.

"Because Miata, I've been called many things but "pedophile" isn't one of them for a reason." he explained with exasperation.

"Pee-do-file?" she asked sounding out the word.

"Yeah, pedophile, what I am not." he stated resolutely, turning his back on her.

"What's a pee-do-file?" she asked naively.

He was slightly unsure how to answer "A pedophile is someone who… you know what? Don't worry about it, just know I am not one, now go and wash yourself over there." he motioned to more shallow water.

"Okay" Eli heard the sloshing of water as Miata went over to the shallow water, after a few minutes "Eli?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Can Eli wash Miata's back? Miata can't reach." she asked.

"Miata, are you sure you can't do it yourself? He asked over his shoulder.

"Yes."

"Then I guess you'll have to make do with being only mostly clean."

"Eli…please?" she pleaded

He looked down and sighed at the water "Okay, okay… fine." He said turning around and walking over to her bare petite form, staring down at her.

"Turn around." She did and he took the shirt and rubbed gently on her back taking off the dirt and debris, looking over his shoulder at the shore making sure no one was looking.

"Eli?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." she said tilting back and staring him in the rims.

"…you're welcome." he said finally

* * *

><p>After the wash they climbed out and retrieved their fallen clothing, each getting out one at a time at Eli's insistence, first Miata climbed out grabbing her white dress and shoes and putting it on quickly. Then Eli jumped out and ordered Miata to turn around as he made himself decent.<p>

The sun had finally gone down as the night showed itself and the stars lit up the sky, as the only other light from the fire flickered causing the shadows to dance. Eli sat by the fire as he laid out propping himself up with right his arm, with his left knee drawn up against his chest his left arm draped across it while his other leg was stretched out towards the fire. Miata sat next to him huddled together as she drew up her knees to her chest and watched the fire glow.

"Eli…"

"Yeah?"

"Where we going?" Miata asked.

"To Rabona, the 'holy city'." He replied removing his goggles, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the light.

"Why?"

"Because you'll be safe there." He replied looking in her direction.

"Then what?" She asked.

"Then…I guess that's when we'll have to part ways." He stated looking into the sky at the stars.

"But, why?" she pleaded tears starting to form.

"Because…I can't take care of you like this forever. There are better people who could care for you, do things for you I just can't do…I'm just not-" he started to say closing his eyes when he felt arms wrap around his waist as he opened his eyes and looked down at Miata, who had attached herself to him and had buried her face in his undershirt.

"NO!" she cried into his shirt "Miata doesn't wanna be with anyone else, Miata want to be with Eli!"

"Miata…" he whispered softly. "You can't follow me forever…I must go to places that you can't."

"But why?" she asked again tears streaming down her face.

"Because that's just how it is." He replied simply.

"It's not fair! Papa's gone, now Mama's gone, don't leave Miata all alone Eli...Miata doesn't wanna be all alone." She whimpered.

"I know it's not fair, and life isn't fair, but it's for the best, you'll see in time." he said cupping her chin and wiping the tears away, looking right into her eyes. "I promise, I won't leave you all alone again."

"Will you do something else?" she asked.

"Anything."

"Tell me a story. Papa always used to do that, it helped me get to sleep." she said squeezing his left hand.

"Alright go and lay down over there while I put away all my cooking utensils." He said pointing to a patch of dirt. Eli then walked over to the fire and took off the supporting logs and cooking stone chucking them into the grass, then taking the bowls and spoon over to the pond washed them before putting them back in his vest. Miata wondered exactly how much he had in that vest.

Eli then walked back and sat cross-legged in front of her as she lay on her side in his direction, propping her head up with her arm. "Alright this is an ancient tale… of long ago." He said in the most theatrical voice he could muster. Miata stared at him with intensity her eyes now filled with wonder and excitement.

"Long ago in a land much like this one there were two creatures; the humans who invented and built, and the monsters; beings who feed on the humans." Eli started with dramatic flair, Miata now giving him her undivided attention.

"The humans were hunted day and night by the monsters as their only source of food, it looked like they would be wiped from the world…" Eli continued "…but the humans were clever, and so an Organization of these humans created living weapons by fusing the flesh of humans with the flesh of the monsters creating their ultimate warriors and saviors and the people called them "claymores" because of the weapons they wielded."

Eli paused and looked to Miata and saw that she had sat up and her eyes were completely focused as she took in every word.

He continued once more "These half-monsters, half-human creations were an absolute success, they drove back the monsters and evened the odds with them; but there was a cost. Though these men were praised as heroes for killing the monsters, they were also despised and feared by the same people for their power, the people were almost afraid that they were as bad as the monsters themselves, they were especially known for their silver eyes."

"Like Eli's!" Miata piped up.

"Yes, like mine." he acknowledged.

"Anyways, the people's fear however was for nothing, the more they fought the monsters the more they sought the power deep within themselves, reveling in it like a pool of ecstasy."

"Ec-tasty?" Miata asked.

"It's a chemical in your brain that makes you feel good." Eli explained briefly.

"Chem-kill?" Miata asked again.

"Listen, I'll answer all your questions at the end just wait till then okay?" Eli asked Miata nodded.

"Anyways, like I was saying, the men sought the power deep within themselves, bringing it out more and more over the years until they became the very thing they had fought so hard to kill, and became even greater monsters themselves." Eli stated dramatically raising his arms as sparks from the nearby fire crackled. Miata had now pulled her knees to her chin as it rested on them and was peering at him wide-eyed.

"There was one man though who was different, once a boy, whose family had been slaughtered by a monster, had been taken in by the Organization and became one of their best. The origins were common enough, the Organization took orphan boys off the street and from villages overrun with the monsters. He was trained in swordsmanship and martial arts for many years preparing him for the fight against the monsters. As soon as he was able, he ran back to his old village trying to meet his little sister, his last living relative." Eli continued a little slower now.

"…she did not recognize him and cast him from her life, calling him a monster. The man's heart was set in stone from that day on and he devoted his life to the Organization and became the perfect human weapon. But it was not to last…" he continued making sure Miata was still listening before going on.

"…the Organization betrayed him, as his fellow comrades-in-arms seemingly unleashed their power and became monsters one after another, they were afraid that he too in time would awaken and try to kill them, so they sent him and a squad of five to a secluded area to eliminate him. But they underestimated his power, the warriors were powerful but lacked his experience and so fell to him one by one, leaving only one alive to tell the tale and just barely, and so the man wandered around aimlessly for two decades…" he continued further as Miata started yawning.

"…the man wandered from village to village sometimes slaying the beasts, other times not, and usually being run out thereafter. Until one day he met a woman who was being attacked and he saved her on a whim. She was eternally grateful and instantly fell in love with him despite his monstrous appearance and attitude, but his stone heart did not return the feelings, but she was not deterred. She followed him around for days, then weeks, then months, getting into trouble time and again which he saved her from, and little by little the ice around the man's heart melted as he found himself returning her feelings. They fell in love together and eventually wed, living a quiet life together in the mountains and they were happy for a time…" Eli said seemingly lost in nostalgia.

"What happened to the man and the women?" Miata asked pleading for Eli to continue.

Eli smiled at her in a sad way continuing "…As I said they were happy for a time, living with each other just the two of them, but it seems the man was unable to escape his fate for one day on a trip for food and water he returned to find that 'monsters' had ransacked his home. His wife was inside, barely alive, with her dying breaths the woman asked but one thing from him, to never close himself up like he was before ever again, to meet people he could be happy with. And so the man promised to heed the words of his wife as she passed on in his arms." He concluded closing his eyes as they teared up a little.

Miata noticed this and asked him "Is Eli okay?"

Lifting a finger to his eye and wiping the slight moisture away he replied "Yeah, just thinking about far off memories."

"So what happened to the man after that?" Miata asked.

"Legend has it that he roamed the land, going from village to town, learning more and more knowledge and skills as he traveled. He met many people along his journey and was happy for their companionship as they taught him their ways of living and what it meant to be human. He outlived many friends and acquaintances alike, but he never became stone-hearted as he was before, and remembered all of them fondly when they passed on. Some say he still roams the land, fulfilling the last wish of his lost love." He concluded getting up and putting out the fire. "Now time for sleep." He said leaning against the nearby tree putting his goggles back on. Miata also went over and lay down, sleeping at the base of the tree, a few feet separating them. He eyed her before drifting off to dream as he slowly closed his eyes to the twinkling lights of the stars.

* * *

><p>Eli found himself in a long white hallway, pristine white floor, ceiling, and walls surrounded him, with matching doors lining the hallway on either side of him going on for an eternity. The light there was bright and he was naked from the top up, his only clothing was his gray trousers, even his goggles were gone but his eyes didn't feel the intensity of the light as they should have been.<p>

Eli heard a feminine giggling coming from down the hallway in a voice he hadn't heard in a long time. He slowly walked past door after door for what seemed like minutes but could have easily been hours, following the sound of the giggling to one door. He pulled on the knob but it refused to budge so Eli pressed his ear to the door listening till the giggling stopped and the voice asked "What's your name?"

"Elijah…" a cold voice deadpanned from far away, echoing throughout the halls that was also oddly familiar.

"Elijah?" the feminine voice asked.

"Yes." The cold voice confirmed.

"That name sounds a little too…" the feminine voice trailed off looking for the right word "…serious."

"Hmph." The cold voice replied.

"How about something simpler?" the feminine voice suggested.

Eli finally got the door to unlock and walked into a black abyss as he walked forward to a figure in the distance. A young woman in her mid-twenties with shoulder length brown hair stood away from him; her back turned towards him and spoke as the source of the feminine voice.

"How about…" the girl started turning to face him as he stared back in shock.

"…'Eli'?"

Eli's eyes snapped open, waking from the dream he looked around him. The stars were starting to give way as the sun crept up over the horizon. He felt something at his side and looked down, Miata had crept over to his side and was laying her head on his stomach, her small hands holding onto the remaining digits of his right hand as she smiled in her sleep. Eli softly smiled and with his left hand stroked her hair softly, _"Guess we could sleep another hour." _He thought before resuming his sleep in peace.

"Eli…"

"Go away Miata, five more minutes."

"Eli!" Miata said in a louder voice.

"Leave me be."

Miata reached for his goggles on his face, pulled them back and then let go, smacking Eli in the eyes.

"AGH, DAMN IT!" he cursed rubbing his eyes and putting his goggles back on properly. "Fine, I'm up!"

Finally on the move again Eli put the rest of his gear back on and took to spreading the ashes from the fire in the grass, it never did any harm to cover your tracks.

* * *

><p>After three hours of walking they finally came upon a town and entered, after Miata's insistence to get food that didn't taste like "yucky-stew" Eli found to his dismay that he was nearly broke.<p>

"Damn it girl! Why must you eat such expensive food?" he asked Miata looking over his shoulders at her hanging onto his back.

Miata just looked at him and shrugged her shoulders the best she could.

"_Great…now what are we gonna do?"_ he looked over to a wagon being pulled by a mule that looked like it had seen better days, it also had a myriad of objects adorning it from food to vases most of it low-quality junk though, with a short middle-aged balding man standing beside it. _"Perfect."_

"Excuse me, sir?" Eli tapped the man's shoulder.

"Eh, yes sonny?" he asked in a wispy voice.

"I noticed your wagon here and could not help but wonder, are you a traveling vendor?" Eli asked peering down at the man.

"Why yes siree, name's Jones I travel all over selling my wares, in fact I was heading out of here in a few minutes, but you look like you might be interested in something I have." He said looking up at Eli.

"_I doubt that."_ Eli thought looking back "Actually I was wondering if you happened to be heading somewhere around Rabona."

"Yes, why?" Jones asked.

"Well me and my kid sister here were wondering if you could give us a ride." he asked turning his shoulder so Miata could be seen.

"Perhaps, for a price." Jones replied licking his lips.

"_Figures…"_ "How much?" Eli asked.

"How much you got?" asked the man

Reaching into his many pockets Eli produced the last of his money, a mere three gold pieces. "Three beras."

"Then it's three beras." Said the man.

"Fine." Eli said tossing the bag to the man.

"Alright then, that's for one passenger now where's the other three beras?" Jones asked holding out his hand once more.

"Listen here pal…" Eli said grabbing Jones by his shirt and lifting him slightly off the ground "I'm not the kind of guy you wanna play this game with, I paid for your overpriced trip, don't push your luck." Eli said menacingly.

"Okay, I get it." The man whimpered slightly.

"Good." He whispered in his ear letting Jones down. "I'm glad we understand each other." He said in a lighter tone, the traces of menace gone from his voice.

Jones just nodded before rounding his wagon getting in the driver's seat.

Miata whispered in his ear climbing slightly over Eli's shoulder "Why was Eli so mean?"

"Don't worry, Miata. I was just roughing him up a bit that's all, lettin' him know who's in charge." Eli whispered back "…and to not rip me off." he added under his breath.

"Hey! If we're going let's go!" Jones shouted from the front.

"Alright!" Eli shouted back, taking Miata from his back and placing her on the cart's back, before climbing aboard himself, sitting opposite of her. "Go!"

Jones whipped the reins and off they went the pace much faster than when Eli had been walking.

* * *

><p>It was a day and a half later when they finally came within the view of Rabona, luckily along with her initial meal Miata had forced Eli to also purchase food for the next few days; they feasted on the food as they rode their ride, never stopping for a rest thanks to Eli's "persuasion". Jones let off Eli and Miata a few kilometers away on a hill overlooking the city, its white pristine walls high and impressive even from so far away. Rabona the "Holy City" was near the dead center of Toulouse, surrounded completely on all sides by high walls, refused to allow anything "unnatural" in its walls. It had been almost ten years since Eli had last been here.<p>

"There it is Miata, Rabona the 'Holy City'." Eli said motioning to it with his arm as Miata crawled up his shoulder to get a better look. "You'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."

"Huh?" Miata gazed at him with a questioning look.

"Heh, just kidding…mostly." Eli said looking back towards her.

"Big City." Miata observed.

"Yeah." Eli replied.

"So let's go." Miata said pointing towards the city.

"Hold on a second, I wanna check something first." Eli closed his eyes reached out with his yoki towards the city; he felt two signatures, one inside the city, a yoma's, stronger than average, and one outside it, a warrior's, the warriors wasn't significant, but the yoma could be a problem. Then the signature outside the city disappeared from his senses. He opened his eyes again.

During his many years of travel Eli had unlocked many mysteries of yoki and had mastered his own, if only to help prevent his full awakening. A few of the truths about this situation was that; one, he was one of the only ones in the entire continent to be able to suppress his yoki to the point of nearly ceasing his yoki flow completely; the Organization had invented the yoki suppression pills for that very reason, it wasn't a skill easily learned or taught.

Two, if a yoki he sensed did disappear it meant that a warrior had taken a pill and was trying to hide her presence, and the only reason she would do that would be to infiltrate someplace that did not want her, and Rabona was definitely a place that didn't want warriors.

Three, the only reason a warrior would want to infiltrate someplace that didn't want her would be to meet with someone who had contacted her secretly.

Four, if someone was contacting a warrior secretly in Rabona the situation must be serious, probably having something to do with the yoma's yoki he was sensing, usually the people of Rabona handle everything themselves, the guards there were actually quite skilled for humans, but they had little chance against a yoma like this.

Five, if the yoma had infiltrated Rabona secretly they wouldn't stand a chance, only a warrior could hope to kill it and if this one got by the guards out front, it must be good at infiltration and hiding its presence.

Six, if the warrior was being secretly being hired to kill the yoma then she would be probably be walking into a trap, without their yoki sensing skills warriors were nearly blind fighting yoma, and this was stronger than the run-of-the-mill yoma, she would be easily outclassed without the one distinct advantage of yoki sensing, which yoma, curiously enough could not do.

Seven, and perhaps most curious of all, the signature he had felt outside the city was identical to one he had felt before and no two yoki signatures were alike, each yoki had a distinctive feel among warriors even after they awakened, as unique as as DNA, fingerprints, or snowflakes, yoma's yoki nearly always felt the same, malevolent and voracious, an awakened being's yoki felt like a mix of the people they once were and the monster they had become. But there was no mistaking it, even in the brief few moments he had felt it he was sure he had felt it before, but it was impossible, she had been killed years ago, he had seen it himself, but here she apparently was. It was the same and different all at once... but weaker then he remembered. This was not something Eli could leave alone; he had to get closer to find the warrior using yoki suppressants, and possibly save her from getting killed by the yoma, normally a warrior could handle those alone but this might be trouble even for a warrior, especially in these circumstances.

"Let's go Miata; I think things might have gotten a bit more interesting." Eli said to her walking down the road to the great gates of Rabona.

* * *

><p>Back in Sutare Galatea opened her eyes and smirked, <em>"I found you…"<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Read it, Review it, Favorite it, Follow it.<br>**


	4. Ch 4: A Yoma in the Belfry

**Chapter 4 for your reading pleasure, enjoy.**

**I don't own Claymore.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 4: A Yoma In The Belfry<p>

Security around the city was even tighter then Eli remembered, the guards were already watching him as he came to the outer gates for inspection.

"Miata, put on your best innocent little girl face okay? And whatever I say just go with it okay?" Eli whispered to her over his shoulder.

"Okay." She replied complying to the best of her ability.

Eli walked up to one of the inspectors who eyed the odd couple as he sat behind his desk before looking to the guard, who was stationed not far away also eyeing them with mild suspicion, ready to jump on them at the sign of trouble.

"Names and reason for visit?" The man asked placing a pencil down on a sheet and looking to Eli and Miata with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Good day good sir!" Eli stated with fake enthusiasm plastering on the friendliest and most unassuming smile he could muster. "My sister and I have traveled from Lautrec and were hoping that we could stop in your fine city for asylum a few days."

The man just looked to him with little interest then repeated again "Name and reason for visit."

"_Right…"_ "My name is Eli and this is my little sister Miata and as I said we were just hoping to find some refuge in this fair city of yours." Eli stated with the same false zeal.

"Do you have any arms with you?" asked the inspector now sizing up Eli for his threat level.

"Only these." Eli stated pulling out his knives laying them on the table for the inspector to see.

"Ever used them?" the inspector inquired.

"Only when needed, sir." Eli stated coolly, his smile still coating his face.

The inspector looked to Eli then to his companion hanging from his back who looked at him with big eyes as she peeked from over his shoulder, slightly shying away from his gaze.

"What's that on your back?"

"My sister as I said before." Eli replied in the same cool tone.

"Don't be a wise-ass kid." Said the inspector with a slightly irritated tone, the nearby guard stepping up glaring down at Eli, who was unfazed. "What's that wrapped in bandages?"

"You mean this?" he motioned with his head towards the great blade. "Well, my father was a seller of arms, which ultimately lead to his untimely demise. So with only my sister and I left we sold his remaining possessions and now only have this antique blade to sell, the last of our father's legacy."

"How much are you planning on selling it for?"

"Ten million beras." Eli stated plainly as a look of shock was worn on the man's face.

"T-t-ten million beras?" the inspector spurted nearly falling over in his chair.

"Correct."

"Why would you sell it for that much?" he asked with an incredulous look.

"This is the last and most valued piece of our father's collection." Eli said still smiling. "He once said that this was used by a great warrior centuries ago in a battle long forgotten. It's an antique not useful for anything but show, but it is incredibly valuable."

"Huh, I think that your father might have been putting you on for selling it that much."

"Perhaps, but I don't think he would want it any other way."

"Well, alright you can go into the city, enjoy your stay and luck to you for selling that thing." The inspector said satisfied.

"Thank you kindly, sir." Eli smiled again at the inspector, dropping it as soon as he was safely far enough away from the suspicious eyes of the guards as he weaved among the crowd.

"That was excellent Miata. You pulled your part off impeccably." Eli said to her craning his neck to look back into her eyes.

"Thanks." She replied from over his shoulder. "But, why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you say all those things? Those fibs?" Miata asked her eyes shining with her ever present innocence.

"We needed to get inside and it would have been more difficult if we didn't lie to them. You can't carry around a claymore like this and expect people not to look suspicious of you." Eli replied back "Besides if I say you're my little sister no one will eye us with too much suspicion, especially with your puppy dog eyes to sway them. Besides it wasn't all lies this sword did and does belong to a great warrior used centuries ago."

"Who?" she asked.

"Me, obviously. Remember Miata the best lies are told in half-truths, the truth will hide the lies and the lies will hide the truth." Eli stated as he headed down the street.

* * *

><p>After fifteen odd minutes of walking they had come to a slightly gloomier part of the city, the crowd was much thinner and the people were more reserved as they lined the sides of the streets, their eyes darting about.<p>

"Where are we?" Miata asked.

"This is the other side of Rabona Miata, the side that you could say never sees much light even at noon, the "darker" side of the city you could say." Eli replied to her. "No matter what you hear no city is completely free from corruption. Although it is limited to this lesser part of the city make no mistake it is here. This is where the poor and less than fortunate dwell, pushed down by the "nobility" from the rest of the city along the scum as they fester like a maggot's nest." he finished with minor disdain.

"Where are we going?"

"To see a very old acquaintance of mine."

Eli walked up to a nearby bar, a little florid then the buildings surrounding it. the sign hanging over read "Cloud 9", walking by some of the people sitting on the steps as he pushed open the door and walked inside. The scene was one of darkness and filth, the smell of alcohol and smoke was heavy was heavy in the air as the dim lighting and shady patrons added to the dark atmosphere of the large room. Eli inhaled deeply and smiled to himself. _"It's good to be back."_ Miata tried to do the same but as she inhaled she coughed and covered her mouth in an attempt to block off the fumes. Eli chuckled to himself as she proceeded to hack up one of her tiny lungs, he then set her down next to him.

"Stay close, don't wander off now, oh and don't inhale too deeply like that again okay?" Eli whispered down to her without taking his eyes off the scene.

Miata just nodded as she pinched her nose while covering her mouth and stayed close to his side.

"Eli? Eli is that you?" came a high fluttering voice from across the room. The voice in question belonged to a redheaded woman in a red dress who was obviously not too ashamed by her rather revealing outfit accompanied by heavy eyeliner and lipstick.

"Scarlett!" Eli said with the same fake enthusiasm and smile from before. She proceeded to walk up and slap him in the face then walked away. "Not sure I deserved that." He told Miata, who just stared on at him.

Another woman walked up to him, a similar outfit as the last woman but in yellow with blond hair.

"Giselle!" Eli smiled again.

"Who was she?" Giselle asked him with exasperation.

"What?" Eli asked in slight confusion before she also proceeded to slap him in the face and also walk away. "I may have deserved that." Eli stated to Miata, who just looked on as before.

Walking through the Inn and past the stares and glares Eli walked up to the counter and sat on a stool as Miata struggled to climb up onto hers eventually succeeding in her goal with a little effort.

Looking around the bar counter his eyes landed on the bartender who was turned around facing the liquor. A buxom beauty that looked in her late teens to early twenties with straight blonde hair that was wrapped in a bun with a few strands sticking out, wearing a sleeveless white shirt with a black vest over top with matching dark gloves covering her hands. She also wore tight black shorts that extended midway down her thighs, displaying every curve voluptuously.

"Barkeep! One shot of whatever's the strongest thing here, oh and uh… a milk." Eli stated looking at the bartender and glancing to Miata in her stool placing their order.

"Ha! Milk! That's an order we haven't had in a long-" the bartender started to say before turning around and dropping the expensive liquor in surprise, creating a loud crash which drew the attention of the entire inn. Then the moment of silence was broken as people returned to the murmurings of their conversations.

"Uh… you… alright?" Eli asked her as she stared straight at him her rust red eyes wide with surprise and astonishment.

"Y-y-y-you!" she stammered pointing a finger at him. "Are y-you E-Eli?" she asked with a slight quiver.

"_Oh shit… not again."_ Eli raised his hands to his face preparing for another slap attempt, but it never came as Eli peaked with one eye at her, her eyes now seemed almost ecstatic with joy as she fought the urge to cry tears of happiness. She then suddenly reached over the bar grabbing Eli's head in two hands and embracing it into her bosom.

Before Eli could even register what was going on he heard light sobbing from the face above him as his cranium was lodged between her two mammary glands.

"Ah…miss? Not that I'm not enjoying the view here, but do I know you?" Eli asked muffled and slightly confused by the situation, but not really caring considering the current status of said situation. Miata however was not amused and was puffing her cheeks in irritation as she watched the state of affairs before her.

"Eli? Don't you recognize me? It's me! Arle-" she started saying when she felt a light pounding on her arm and saw that the little girl who was sitting down next to him had gotten up on the counter and was flailing at her with her small fists of fury.

"Let go of Eli! You're suffocating him!" she shouted continuing her soft assault.

"Huh? Oh, right…" she let go of Eli's head as he returned to his previous sitting position wiping off the trail of blood dripping from his nose.

"Well, that was unexpected." Eli stated still in slight disorientation. "So, who are you again?"

"Come on Eli! Don't you remember? About ten years ago? Little girl who followed you around the bar when you visited?" she motioned with her hand lowing it to the floor to demonstrate the height.

"Huh? Hmm…" Eli closed his eyes for a moment and put his chin in his hand then opened his eyes and snapped his fingers as the memory came back to him. "Oh right! Arleen! That little girl who lived at the bar here! Do you know whatever happened to her?"

"Ha! Sure do! I heard she grew up and became the bartender of the bar she grew up in." she said with a wink and a grin.

"No way… Arleen?" Eli said eyes wide in disbelief, not that she or anyone else could tell.

"That's right!"

About ten years ago when Eli had last been to Rabona, Arleen was just an abandoned child who was taken in by the bar's kind owners out of pity, the elderly bartender who owned Cloud 9, Hoarse, and _her_. Arleen wasn't much different than what he had remembered, though he had to admit she looked much more feminine then he recalled; on the other hand she was only eight and a half at the time.

"I don't believe it you look so much… different." he said trying not to ogle her cleavage, but failing.

"Eli? I'm up here." she said pointing to her face.

"Huh? Oh, right." He said now focusing completely on her face.

"Right, anyways who's this?" She pointed with her thumb as Miata had stopped her attack temporarily. "You finally decide on having kids?"

"Nah, yoma took out her family." He said picking Miata off the counter and placing her back in her stool. "Just trying to get her to an orphanage." He said in a whisper to Arleen trying not to let Miata in on the conversation as she glared daggers at Arleen for her over-familiarity with him.

"Think that's best?" she whispered back ignoring the nearby glare.

"It's not safe with me, you know that much at least. Anyways as good as it is to see you, and as much as I would love to catch up, you must know the real reason I'm here." Eli stated getting up from the stool and standing at full height.

"Right… you're here to see her." Arleen pointed with her thumb to a door behind her.

"Is she in?"

"Isn't she always?"

"True enough. Might as well see the old crow then." Eli said rounding the corner to get behind the counter as he made for the door. "Oh right, Arleen this is Miata; Miata, Arleen. Now would you do me a favor and watch her while I go and say hello?"

"Sure, I'm sure we'll get along just fine." Arleen said smiling at Miata who just crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks at her.

"Fantastic." Eli replied before opening and entering the door as it slammed shut behind him.

"So…how about that milk?" Arleen asked as she turned back to her recently placed responsibility, clasping her hands together. Miata just crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out her.

* * *

><p>Walking down a short dark passageway, Eli made it to the end where a dim lighting was glowing in the distance, walking down he entered a dimly lit room, after spreading apart the beads that guarded the entrance. Inside the dimly lit room were candles stacked on books and shelves surrounding the room giving it a supernatural feel. In the center was a table covered with the usual mystic paraphernalia, cloth on the table, crystal ball, tarot cards, the works. Facing him was an elderly woman dressed in the usual spiritual clothes, looking like an ancient gypsy. On her shoulder sat a crow who was eyeing Eli with its dark eyes as he approached. The room was lined with all sorts of voodoo and witchcraft items with and books of spells and monsters common among the ranks of unusual trinkets.<p>

The woman sitting down and staring him down from her side of the table was Madame Zora, she had opened up the bar as a heaven in the Rabona slums she and her husband Hoarse, who Eli had yet to see since he returned. Zora owned the bar with him and always kept her prized bird "Aldara" close to her side, "to keep her company" she would say. However she was more then she appeared to be, during her long years of life she had also dealt in information. She had secretly established a spy network that spanned to most every major city in the continent; she even had a few agents inside the organization itself. It was for this reason that Eli visited every so often, for current events, commonly known or otherwise. Usually she just sent the information to him via her pet crow or one of her spies, but what he came for was important and he had to see her in person, plus catch up on old times.

"Ah…Madame Zora, it's been a whi-" Eli started to say when she drew a knife and threw it at him Eli winced as the blade embedded itself deep in his side.

"AGH! Damn it! That hurt you ancient bitch! Why'd you do that?" Eli growled at her pulling the blade out and tossing it on the floor as the wound healed closed.

"Hehehe… had to make sure it was you." She crackled in a high-pitched voice. "If it was really you, it wouldn't be a problem and it wasn't so I can be sure it really is you. And who are you to be calling someone ancient!" she shrieked at him.

"A fair point, I suppose you can't trust many people in this day and age. Though just so you know making an elixir from my blood and drinking it won't give you my eternal youth." Eli joked as he sat down in the chair across from her. "So what have you been up to?"

"Cut the crap Eli, I know why you're here." Zora said with a serious tone, tossing him a folder with paper stuffed in it. Eli reached for it when the crow cawed at him and he paused, his hand hovering above the folder.

"So, Zora it's been over ten years how is that thing not dead yet?" Eli questioned her pointing at the crow on her shoulder. The bird in question had been present when Eli had last visited Zora and was mildly surprised to see it was still around.

"This "thing" has a name Eli, he's called Ajax and he's not the same crow that hatted your guts all those years ago, this is her son." She corrected him "The mother crow who you knew as Aldara died some time ago."

"Uh-huh what'd you do with the body?" Eli asked out of mild curiosity, his hand still hovering over the folder. Zora pointed a bony finger behind him as he turned to look at a stuffed crow perched on one of the many shelves surrounding the room. "Huh, she seems much friendlier now." he concluded as he placed his hand down on the folder and pulled it towards him to inspect the contents.

"Everything to your liking?" Zora asked after Eli shifted threw a few pages before being satisfied and putting the contents in another one of his vest pockets.

"Very, glad to see our informants are still alive and well."

"_My_ informants," she corrected him again. "And yes, they are still providing the same quality information as I expect them to, it is my business after all."

"I thought fortune telling was your business?" Eli asked with sly grin.

"Bah, fortune telling… indeed." she said taking out a pipe and lighting it before taking a few puffs as the smoke mixed with the fire from the candles making the atmosphere hazier.

"Well, as long as you don't mind…" Eli said taking out his own pipe and lighting it taking deep inhales as he savored the taste as blew out the smoke mixing the two billows, combing them into intricate shapes as they mixed.

"So tell me Zora, where's Hoarse?" Eli asked after a few moments of silence.

"Dead." she replied flatly.

"Hmm…there seems to be a lot of death going around these days. Old Hoarse must be spinning in his grave, he would never have left little Arleen to this dingy place." Eli stated equally flatly, taking a puff from his pipe.

"I've tried to get her to leave, but she says she wants to stay in memory of Hoarse, and for my sake." she quipped almost bitterly.

"How, and how long?"

"Few years back, caught some sickness… terminal."

"I see…" Eli sat back taking a few puffs. "Well... at least she's better looking than Hoarse, bet that draws in the crowds."

"Indeed, oh, and by the way Ivan and Stephan are waiting for you."

"Really? Then I'd best go see them, see what new contraptions they have created." Eli said getting up from his position. "Oh, and I know we may have our differences, but I'm glad you're still alive… you old bird." He said with a wink.

"Don't be such a stranger Eli, you never know when I might kick the bucket." she said with a small smile and the crow cawed in agreement.

"Please, you? But you're still so young." he replied reflecting her small smile, and with that he turned on his heel and he started to walk back into the main room of the bar when Zora called out to him.

"Eli wait, here." She said tossing him a bag of coins which he caught in one hand, looking at the pouch then back to her. "Keep that, I know with you and your little companion you need some."

"You spying on me?" Eli asked with one raised eyebrow.

"Just take it, as a favor from one old friend to another." she relied ignoring the accusation.

"You sure you're not going soft with old age?"

"Get out." she pointed towards the entrance and he quickly complied to and left her presence, walking back down the hallway and into the main room of the bar, where he found Arleen and Miata making faces at each other.

"Ah, still as mature as I remember you." Eli stated coming up from behind Arleen as she was busy stretching her mouth and sticking out her tongue at Miata who was making similarly making faces back. "Look I need to be somewhere else for a moment I'll be back soon, watch her okay?"

"Alright, for you Eli, but you owe me." Arleen replied without looking away from her adversary.

"No, Eli I want to go with you!" Miata whined to him.

"Miata, I need to go someplace where you can't be right now so just stay here and be good, okay?"

"Okay." She replied reluctantly, still making faces.

"Good." and with that he walked out if the bar and onto the streets.

* * *

><p>Galatea walked into the circular room of the organization's leaders and bowed.<p>

"'God-eye' Galatea report." barked Rimuto, leader of the organization.

"Sir, the spike I have felt earlier has once again revealed itself."

"Are you sure it's the same?" another member asked

"I am." She confirmed

"I see, and where was it this time?"

"I'd say it was somewhere near Rabona sir."

"I see, go out and find the source of the yoki spike and report back. Your handler Ermita will be out there to meet you. If deemed necessary eliminate the threat." Rimuto ordered.

"As you wish." she replied with a bow turning on her heel and leaving.

* * *

><p>Eli had been weaving his way through the crowd when he finally came upon his target. <em>"Aha! Here it is." <em>He thought as he looked at a shabby building, it's sign had faded text with only the vague pictures of an anvil and hammer visible.

Walking in through the door he was met with the smell of grease and smelting ore. Standing over and an anvil was a man with all the signs of a blacksmith, dark greasy hair, low set-eyes, round face and the gloves and apron of a smelter. He was busy banging away at a sword when he heard the door open and turned around to see a man he had not seen in quite some time.

"Eli!" the man bellowed with joy as he hobbled over to greet him, grabbing his hand and shaking it firmly.

"It's been quite a while hasn't it Ivan?" Eli asked with a friendly smile returning the firm handshake.

"Damn right it has! I thought you might never come back! Hell maybe even dead!" he bellowed as he wrapped one arm around Eli's shoulder.

"Not yet, where's Stephan?" Eli asked him.

"Downstairs I think, let's go and see him, I think we got some stuff you may want to see." Ivan said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Don't you need to watch the shop?" Eli joked.

"Ha! If only no one comes down here to buy my quality stuff anymore. Every boy who can hold a hammer and not get burned by a furnace seems to be keen on opening up their own business and running me outta mine." he replied sadly.

"Sorry to hear that Ivan, if it's any consolation, none of them can hold a candle to you or your brother." Eli said putting his hand on Ivan's shoulder.

"Thanks Eli, that means a lot." Ivan replied as he descended stone stair to the basement of the building.

Eli had been introduced to Ivan and Stephan shortly after he became friends with Hoarse who had recommended the brothers as the best smithers of the era. Eli was curious and went to meet the brothers, he was pleasantly surprised when he found them to be all Hoarse had said and more. As well as being blacksmiths the brothers also dabbled in inventions, they had been the ones to create the vest Eli now had on with more portable storage space then Eli had thought possible. It had been the first time in ten years Eli had seen the brothers and was curious about what they had in store for him.

"Wait till you see what we have in store for you." Ivan stated with zeal as he led the way down into the basement.

The room was large with a smithing and smelting area in the corner as well as many tables covered with plans and blueprints as well as prototypes of all sorts of innovations from weapons to games. Stephan was almost a doppelganger of his brother with the only difference between them was that Stephan rarely spoke unless necessary. Ivan was the spokesperson for the two of them and Stephan was just fine with that.

"Hey Stephan! Look who we got here!" Ivan shouted as he hit the bottom of the stair Eli following close behind. Stephan looked up from his delicate work and smiled when he saw Eli waving to him as he returned the gesture.

"Been doing good there Stephan?" Eli asked with a smirk to which Stephan just responded to with a nod of his head. "Glad we have these long meaningful talks as always Stephan."

"Anyways Eli this is what we've been working on for a while." He motioned to a rack that held a trench coat.

"This is what you have for me?" Eli asked skeptically.

"Well you don't even know what it does yet!" Ivan snapped picking up the trench coat and draping it over Eli's shoulders. "It's like your vest but better, highly flexible and sturdy cloth alloy with resistance to extreme heat and cold, and of course even more storage space then your vest, even has a hood."

"Nice work, I retract my previous doubt." Eli said impressed as he took off his vest and handed it to Stephan. "Do me a favor and put all my stuff into the coat from my vest would you?"

Stephan nodded and took the vest and coat to another part of the room to begin his task.

Ivan then put a hand on Eli's shoulder, "We have other inventions to show you."

"I'll bet you do."

Walking over to another table Ivan took up a small lead-like ball with a string and held it up for Eli to see. "This is a light bomb, pull the fuse and throw it and it will explode in a flash of great light and sound."

"Sounds good, put a few dozen or so in with the coat will you?"

"Sure." Walking over to another table Ivan held up a boot that looked identical to what Eli was currently wearing. "This is a dagger boot, there's a certain button on the bottom of the you step on and a dagger pops out, press it again to return the blade."

"I'll take a pair."

"Done." Walking over to yet another table Ivan held up a combat knife that looked the same as the knives that Eli carried with him. "These knives are enhanced from your knives, using the metal shard you brought us we were able to create a material that was remarkably similar to it and used it to forge these."

"Very impressive, I'll take two, so tell me you weren't able to distinguish where the shard I gave you came from?" Eli asked with curiosity flowing out of him.

"No." Ivan replied walking over to another table where a shard of metal laid on a piece of cloth. "It's not like anything we've ever seen. In fact there doesn't seem to be any metal like this in all the land."

"I see, interesting." Eli said putting his hand to his chin in thought. "By the way, have there been any unusual deaths lately?"

"Yes." Ivan replied grimly "The church guards and priests have been dying in rather mysterious circumstances, from what I hear their stomachs are cut open and their entrails are gone."

"_Definitely the work of yoma." _"Know anything more?" Eli asked.

"Nah, but Zora would, why don't you ask her?"

"A good idea, I'll be back for my stuff later, just have it prepared okay?"

"No problem, and really Eli it's damn good to see you." Ivan said with a smile.

"You too." He replied as he made his way back up the stairs and out of the building.

* * *

><p>"Yoma huh? You really think so?" Zora asked.<p>

"I do." Eli replied gravely.

"Hmm… that's troubling."

"Indeed, I need to get inside the Cathedral." Eli concluded putting his hand to his chin in thought.

Zora took out a coin and flipped it to him which he caught, inspecting it then looking to her. "That's a sign that you are there to get baptized, that should let you get into the inner chambers, with that little girl of yours it should make it all the more convincing."

"Thanks Zora, maybe I'll even see Friar Vincent."

"He's Father Vincent now."

"Really? Good for him, he was always dedicated to that place." Eli said as he remembered the monk from his memory.

"By the way who is that girl to you? Finally knock up some poor girl?"

"Not quite, I guess you could say she's my responsibility, trying to get her to an orphanage."

"Hmph, fine then." She waved him out of the room and he complied as he went back into the main bar room where he found Miata and Arleen making faces at her as she giggled in amusement.

"Glad to see you two getting along with each other." Eli said slightly amused. Picking up Miata he set her on his back, "I gotta borrow her, I'll be back." Arleen wiping the counter down.

"Where are we going Eli?" Miata asked.

"We're going to church, Miata." Eli replied with a grin over his shoulder.

* * *

><p>"Sorry, past here is the baptismal chamber."<p>

"It's okay. I'm here to get baptized with my sister." Eli replied with his fake smile.

"You got proof?" the guard asked.

"Right here." Eli said holding up the coin for inspection.

"Alright you can go through, no funny business now."

"Wouldn't dream of it sir." With that Eli picked Miata off his shoulders and set her down next to him as they descended the stone steps to come to the baptismal hall.

It was a large room with mostly plain walls of gray cobblestone with barren gray walls encompassing the room, guards and priests going about their tasks; at the far end was the father who was baptizing for the day. As he walked through the hall towards the end he sensed nothing from any living person in the room as he passed them, but then again he was suppressing his own yoki to the max so his sensing was limited right now. He could find the yoma with ease, but after releasing his yoki in two short blasts like he had someone had surly noticed and he had to be extra cautious not to release his yoki for now.

Eli frowned; this had definitely been where he sensed the yoma yoki, right in the center of the city which was here in the church. But, he felt nothing from any living person in the room. _"Damn, can't find anything, this yoma must be good at hiding his yoki, probably how he's survived so long."_ Eli thought striding past to the priest in front as he was preparing to baptize a girl with very light short blonde hair as the person he assumed to be her brother with short light brown hair stood on the steps a few feet away, watching as his sister bowed her head and the priest put his hand over her head.

Eli was still a dozen feet away and they were speaking quietly, but Eli's hearing was better than most and could make out each word with clarity.

"I baptize thee in the name of our lord and savior, tell me what is the name of thy god?" the priest asked with a kind smile.

The girl who was now kneeling and bowing her head, her hands clasped tight and her eyes closed spoke, "The name of my god is Rimuto."

Eli widened his eyes a little at this as the words were processed, Rimuto if he recalled was the current leader of the organization. _"Could it be?"_ he reached out with his yoki briefly in a miniscule amount as he sensed around for her yoki; he found it. It had been suppressed thoroughly and if he had not been looking for it specifically he would have missed it, but it was there. She was the warrior he had felt earlier who had taken the suppression pills, what was more interesting was that he had not been mistaken he had felt the yoki before, it was _hers_ but why would _her_ yoki be coming out of this warrior? Eli wondered this but kept quiet as he listened in on the conversation.

"I have traveled here from the land of Sutare." The girl continued.

"Oh dear god, then that means you are a-" the priest stammered quietly.

"Have digression, please father." the girl cut him off with the same calm voice.

"Meet me in the tallest of the cathedral's belfries an hour after the moon has risen." the priest instructed quietly holding the girls head between his palms. "The city is under a strict marshal law at nighttime, will you still be able to come?" he asked.

"I will be there as you say, Father Vincent." She replied as he let go of her head and she stood up turning around and walking out of the chamber he shoes clacking on the floor as her male companion followed close behind. Eli stood off to the side as she passed him, glancing at him briefly as she strode on through. Eli did not recognize her, and apparently neither did she recognize him, but whoever it was he was going to find out later, and another thing if she was a warrior what was that boy doing with her?

"_Wait a minute, did she say Father Vincent?" _Eli looked at the middle-aged man and recognized the face of the same man he had seen years before. _"Too bad about his hair…"_ he thought as he prodded Miata up the stairs to him.

"Hello my children, have you come for baptism?" Vincent asked with the same kind smile as before.

"Just for my sister, father." Eli said pushing Miata towards him.

"Alright then," he placed his hand over her head. "I baptize thee in the name of our lord and savior, tell me what is the name of thy god?"

"Our gods' names are Teresa and Clare." Eli replied for her.

"Ah… the twin Goddesses of love, very appropriate for girls, then it is done. You are now blessed in the name of Teresa and Clare, go in peace." Father Vincent lowered his hand bowed as Eli and Miata followed suite.

"Thank you Father for this blessing." He said turning around. "Come Miata." She followed him as they walked out of the baptismal hall into the main cathedral then out to the bustling streets of Rabona.

* * *

><p>"Antiques?" asked the inn keeper quizzically.<p>

"Yes." The girl replied motioning to the statue next to her "We've been selling the pieces our father collected before his death in order to stay afloat, this is the final and most exquisite piece of his collection."

"It's nice. How much are you selling it for?" the man inquired

"It's about ten million beras." The girl answered with a smile.

"Ten mill-, you'll never get that much here." The man replied in exasperation.

"Right, to be honest we had been expecting that, but my brother and I agreed that we would sell each piece as close to the prices our father would have wanted as possible." The girl explained with a smile.

"Well, good luck to both of you." the man replied "It looks as though your brother has become ill." he stated looking over at the boy lying down in the bed.

"I think he had too much to eat, the food was really fantastic." she assured.

"Well, I did serve him two helpings…" the man agreed "Oh right, I meant to tell you about the curfew, no one is allowed to be on the streets at nighttime."

"Thanks, I heard about that today." she responded.

"Very good, have a wonderful night." and with that the innkeeper left closing the door behind him.

As soon as they were alone she dropped the smile and addressed the boy. "I'm sorry for making you eat so much food. You're not in pain are you?"

"Nah, I remember what you said before about not being able to eat much in one sitting." He replied to her sitting up. "Besides, I work for you as a cook eating food is a part of the job, or at least that's the way I see it. I just look at it as research for future meals." He said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly as the girl walked over to a chair and put her cloak on then walking over to a window and opening it.

"Clare, hold on!" he said suddenly reaching for her slightly as she turned to face him. "Be… careful out there."

"Of course, I'll be back soon." she assured and with that she was gone.

* * *

><p>The sun was barely over the horizon as night began to fall, even in Rabona's slums it seemed that the poor slinked away to whatever hole they crawled out of.. The martial law it seemed was absolute. Walking in Eli looked around, the bar was empty as the patrons had left for the day, Arleen was the only one in the room wiping down the counter.<p>

"Hey Arleen, we need a place to stay, can we-?" Eli asked motioning to himself and Miata.

"Sure Eli, upstairs to the left is my room, you guys can stay there. I'll be up in a minute" she replied.

"You sure?"

"Absolutely Eli, anything for you." she said with a wink that made Eli slightly uneasy.

"Okay then… thanks." he said ascending the stairs, Miata following close behind.

Opening the door on his left Eli saw the medium sized bedroom. It had mostly barren walls with only a picture of a faraway pasture on one of the walls and a window to look out over the streets. The only furniture was a single bed, a small desk next to it and a chair by the window.

"_Cozy"_ Eli thought as Miata went over to the bed and jumped on it landing face-first into the covers. Setting down his claymore against the wall as the wood groaned against the weight as well as putting his knives down on the table, Eli pulled over the chair and sat down. The moon had been up for nearly an hour, if he wanted to find the warrior he had to go now.

"Miata, I need you to stay here." Eli said sternly pointing at the floor and opening up the window.

Miata stopped bouncing on the bed and looked to him. "Where Eli going?" she asked.

"Just out for a bit… be good for me and stay here alright?" Eli asked putting one leg out the window and giving her as small smile.

"Okay."

"Good, I'll be back soon." he said with a wink as he jumped out onto the roof and disappeared into the night.

Miata stared out the window for a few moments after Eli left, then Arleen opened the door dressed in a nightie that showed off her curves, "Oh, Eli… what do you think of-" she started in a seductive voice but then stopped looking around her, her eyes landing Miata "Where is he?"

"Out for a bit." Miata said with her ever present innocent eyes.

* * *

><p>"<em>Got to be cautious…"<em> Eli thought as he jumped from one rooftop to the next. _"If I get seen by anyone it could be trouble."_ As Eli jumped through the air quickly from building to building in the direction of the church, he then saw another figure about a hundred yards away also making their way towards the church as they flew over the rooftops. _"Alright then, guess I'm not late for the meeting."_ He thought as he followed behind the figure unnoticed.

When they got to the last rooftop before the church the warrior pulled out a hook and rope tossing it to the belfry as Eli watched the figure swing up into the building.

"_Amateur."_ Taking a few steps back from the ledge of the roof, Eli got a running start and flew through the air, landing on one of the lower ledges, then quickly jumping from ledge to ledge to get just below the top of the highest balcony in the belfry. He heard voices as he listened in.

Father Vincent paced nervously behind him when he heard the flapping of cloth and turned around to see the claymore he had seen earlier arrive just on time as she took one knee and recited her orders. "By direct orders from our leader Rimuto, the organization from Sutare has sent me to your aid. By request of a Father Vincent in a town of Rabona, I assume that is correct."

"The first to pass was Father Van," he started as he explained "Soon thereafter my priests were being killed regularly, sometimes alone and sometimes in groups of up to three people. All of this violence has occurred within the cathedral, to think that we as servants of god would be needlessly tortured and killed is beyond reproach! Tell me is this to be permitted?" he asked with incredulity.

"Yoma do not discriminate." The warrior stated calmly "They don't care if the faith of God lives inside you, weather you are a man of the cloth or an infidel, we are meat to those creatures."

"What?" he asked softly in disbelief.

"As long as your guts are inside your body you're fair game to them." she finished.

"_Geez, as true as that is you don't need to be so blunt."_ Eli thought as he continued to listen in.

"Please you have to help us, I don't care how much it will cost we'll pay it." He said firmly.

"I require no money. Once the job is complete someone from our organization will come by to collect the money and you will give it to them." She explained "If I happen to fail the mission and die in the process you will own nothing and this yoma will continue its slaughter."

Walking towards the edge where Eli was, she continued "It's possible that the odds may be against me this time around." She paused "I have a request for you father, as a faithful servant to god."

"Request?"

"If I happen to parish while hunting the yoma within your cathedral, will you promise to take in the boy I brought with me and care for him?" she asked.

"What?" the priest asked a little surprised.

"_What?"_ Eli thought also a little surprised, he then thought back to the boy who was at the baptismal chamber with her.

"There's no need for worry, he's a good boy." she assured. "His family was killed by a yoma and has no one to turn to. Wherever you can fit him in would be sufficient, perhaps he can assist the priests or even work in the kitchen."

"We will take care of the boy, you have my word," He said solemnly "and even though I may be a servant to the lord it doesn't excuse my behavior, I should be more concerned with others than myself, like you."

Eli raised a brow at this.

"A claymore who isn't allowed into our city because she's deemed sub-human appears to be void of selfishness." He continued. "Your benevolent care for the boy is admirable and an inspiration to us all."

"Thank you, I am in your debt." And with that she was gone.

"Well Vincent, it seems you're still the old softy I remember." Eli stated as he leaned against the obelisk opposite of the father as he turned around at the sudden voice.

"Who are you?" Vincent asked as he looked into the shadows to see a dark silhouette.

Eli stepped into the moonlight as Vincent recognized the man from earlier.

"You!" he said pointing at him "You're the one from earlier! The man with tat little girl I blessed. What do you want? Are you the yoma?" he asked now a little timid.

"No, I just came by to say 'Hello' to an old friend." Eli smirked as he watched the Father's face change from one of slight fear to one of slight confusion.

"Do I know you?"

'Come on. How many other guys do you know with white hair?" Eli asked in mock disbelief.

The priest paused for a second then his confusion became one of delight as he walked over to Eli and grasped his hand with a smile. "Eli! By God! I thought I'd never see you again."

"The chances were slim I admit father, but here I am." he stated as he returned the firm handshake. "And that's right! A father! Glad to see your work at this place hasn't gone to waste."

"It has been ten years after all, but you still haven't changed at all have you? The same man I remember from all those years ago. Have you gone to see Zora yet?"

"I have, the old crow's doing fine I'm surprised you haven't run her out of the city by now."

"Yes, well we have… other problems to worry about."

"Indeed, so what's this I hear about a yoma in your belfry?" Eli inquired.

Vincent gazed at him sullenly then slowly opened his mouth to speak. "It's been terrible Eli, we-"

Eli held up his hand and the father stopped speaking. "It's fine Vincent, I already know the situation here."

His sorrowful look turned into one of hope. "Then will you help us?"

"Isn't that what you have her for?" Eli gestured with his thumb towards the ledge.

"Yes, but now that you're here, I thought-"

"If I have to I will help you," he cut him off "but right now I'm not needed. Besides I can't really do anything in my current situation."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm being watched. I don't know by whom, but I have to play it low-key for now, but trust me," He said walking towards the ledge "when the time comes I will be there when you need me."

"Eli wait." Vincent called out, Eli turned around to face him. "It's… good to see you."

"And you, until next time." With that he jumped down to the rooftops and began running along the rooftops back to Cloud 9.

* * *

><p>Eli then noticed the figure ahead of him; she was fighting against some of the guards of Rabona. <em>Looks like we've been spotted."<em> As if on cue, out of the nowhere guards appeared surrounding Eli in a circle a half-dozen pairs of eyes were now glaring at him.

"Looks like we have someone who wasn't aware of our city's rules men." one guard barked to the others "No one is allowed after dark on the streets of Rabona."

"Then I suppose it's a good thing I'm not on the streets, isn't it?"

"Silence knave!" another guard barked from Eli's left.

"This will be your one and only chance," the first guard continued "surrender now and you will not be harmed. Think carefully on your next words, you are outnumbered and they could be your last."

"I may be outnumbered, but you are outmatched." Eli replied coolly with a smug look.

There was a twang and a whistling in the air as one of the guards fired his bow, making a beeline straight towards Eli's shin, he caught it with ease and crushed the arrow in his hand. _"That was close, almost took an arrow to the knee."_

The guards looked slightly stunned at this, but their looks of surprise quickly changed back to one of anger as the guard who had fired the arrow was loading another into his crossbow.

"_This isn't good, they have me surrounded. I don't wanna kill em' but...no, not an option, have to take them out without casualties, a few broken bones but no fatalities." _Eli back flipped behind him and landed right behind the guard as he knocked him out. The other guards acted quickly one coming right behind Eli as he swung his sword down on him.

Eli saw him and elbowed the guard in the gut away from him, denting his chest plate as the guard flew back into another of his colleagues. There were more twangs in the air as arrows were released. Grabbing the sword from one of the guards Eli quickly knocked them away then parrying the blows of a sword, and a battle-axe as the guards teamed up on him. _"What a pain in the ass…."_ Eli thought as he head-butted the wielder of the battle-axe.

* * *

><p>Clare had just left the belfry and was leaping from rooftop to rooftop when she heard the whistling of air as knives made contact. She landed on a roof when a guard came up behind her and swung down shattering pieces of tile as she dodged him.<p>

"I assume that you weren't aware of the strict curfew this city is under, if you choose to ignore it the possibility of being mistaken for a yoma are great." He said in a gruff voice.

"Heheh. This guy's got some moves; he avoided your attacks with ease Galk." Another shouted as he held daggers between his fingers, the source of the previously thrown projectiles. "Though from the looks of it he ain't fast enough to dodge my knives."

Galk quickly followed up with a few slashes as Clare dodged them with relative ease. "Damn you!" he seethed in frustration. He finally made contact with a clang of metal as Clare held one of the daggers to block.

"Hey! Those are mine!" the other guard said in disbelief.

Clare threw the remaining daggers she had a Galk whose armor had protected him but was momentarily blinded. The other guard came charging with knives drawn but was stopped when Clare removed her cloak and blinded him with it, revealing her form as Galk gasped in disbelief and the other also looked shocked "A girl?"

Using her opponents' momentary shock to her advantage she quickly fled out of sight.

The other guard came to his senses. "Let's go get her!"

"No she's long gone." Galk conceded as he held up one of the knives.

"But we should go after her, I wounded her with one of my knives, we have the advantage!" he countered.

"Look" Galk said as he held up the knife. "This is one of the knives she threw back at us, notice it hasn't a single drop of blood on it."

"No blood?" the other stared in disbelief "Who the hell is this woman?"

* * *

><p>"Damn you!" the last guard shouted as he swung down his sword at Eli, who simply sidestepped as he knocked the last guard out. <em>"There that's all of them, no casualties.."<em> he looked over to where the woman should have been only to see her fleeing as two guards stared after her.

"_Damn… looks like I missed my chance. Better get outta here before the sun rises."_

With that he disappeared leaving only unconscious guards behind him.

* * *

><p>The cathedral was pitch black at night except for the soft glow of the moonlight as two of the sentries were at their posts watching for any unusual activity.<p>

There was a sudden clank that echoed throughout drawing the attention of one the guards as they stopped to listen.

"What's wrong?" one asked

"Did you hear that?" the other asked looking in the direction of the sounds origin.

The first looked in the same direction when another noise reached his ears as he turned back to his companion who was now a gushing fountain of blood as his body fell over. There was a growling as the first guard looked up and saw a pair of golden eyes staring back.

"What the-" he said in disbelief and fear as he slightly backed away "Where the hell did this thing come from? We searched this entire cathedral inside and out! Please…Please don't kill- AHHHH!" his screams rocked the cathedral before becoming deafening silence once more.

* * *

><p>The church bells tolled in the distance as Arleen woke; her first thought came to mind. "Oh no, where's Eli?" she asked aloud looking down on her bed as she saw Miata sleeping soundly next to her.<p>

"Well look who's finally up. Glad to see you two have worked things out."

Arleen shot up and looked to her left towards the window where she saw Eli sitting next to it I his hands crossed across his chest.

"Nice outfit by the way." He said with a wink.

Arleen now looking down at the nightie then back to Eli as she quickly and clumsily grabbed the covers and pulled them to her chest in a blush, waking Miata up in the process.

"Hey! What was that-" she looked "Eli!" she ran from the bed to his side hugging his leg as Eli bent down and patted her head.

"Where were you?" they asked simultaneously.

"Didn't I already say it? Just out for a bit. Though I do have some news there was another attack in the cathedral." He said grimly.

"Oh, no… was it…?" she trailed off.

"No, Vincent is still among the living don't worry. Though I do fear for how long…"

Arleen looked slightly relieved before her face turned back into one of concern. "What about you?"

Eli looked slightly surprised at her question but smiled warily at her. "Don't worry about me Arleen; I'm not ready to die just yet."

"What are you going to do?"

Eli got up and strode across the room. "I need to be prepared next time, I'm going out again to pick up a few things. I'll be back soon." He closed the door behind him leaving Arleen and Miata alone once more.

* * *

><p>The bell was ringing in the distance as the boy woke "Oh, no…where's Clare?" he asked out loud sitting up, looking around him.<p>

"I see you've woken up."

The boy turned his head and saw Clare sitting on a chair a few feet from him, relief washing over him. Then slightly gasping, "Clare your…eyes." He said looking at her now silver irises.

"Oh the medicine I'm taking is only effective for half a day. I have to remember to keep taking the pills whenever they wear off or we'll be caught." Taking out more of the pills she put one in her mouth.

"Wait I'll get water." He offered getting up.

"I'm certain there was another yoma attack at the cathedral last night." she said looking out the window.

There was a clanking of boots outside the door as a few pairs of armored feet stepped up to the door and opened it with a bang as the boy turned to look while Clare put on her cloak and hood, quickly swallowing the pills.

"Stay where you are we're looking for yoma." One of the guards said as he walked in, the same pair who had been chasing Clare just last night.

"But we're both human!" the boy said rather quickly.

Galk spoke up "This morning in the cathedral we found the remains of two of our best sentries; they had both been murdered and eaten by yoma. We ask for your cooperation."

The shorter guard stepped up to Clare "Hey Galk is it me or does this cloak look familiar to you? Because a suspicious woman was running around on the rooftops last night and she was wearing the same thing, not to mention how six of our guards were all knocked completely unconscious, some with broken bones and dented armor."

"_Guards? Knocked unconscious? Dented armor?"_ the boy thought as he watched the scene.

I heard that you two arrived in town just yesterday…" he finished

What are you accusing us of? The boy protested loudly as Galk grabbed the back of his shirt and gave him a look to be silent.

"Look I'm not saying the woman we came into contact with was a yoma or anything, but I just doubt that any normal human being could pull off the stunts she did. Unless… she was a silver-eyed witch!" he said pulling off Clare's hood as the boy gasped.

The guard grabbed her by the chin and inspected her eyes… green and dark, definitely not silver. "Heh, you're a lot cuter than I would have expected."

The boy relaxed _"Clare took her medicine just in time…"_Feeling him calm down Galk released him.

"See…" the guard continued looking down at her "we're looking for one of those mixed breeds, someone who's sold their body and soul to the yoma. It couldn't be all that difficult to change something simple like the color of your eyes. Let's see…"

The boy ran up and bit him on the arm, surprising all present.

"What the hell's your problem?" he asked incredulously.

"You got some nerve, accusing her of being some witch when you have zero proof of it!" the boy shouted at him taking a stance between the guard and Clare. "My sister has more love and kindness in her heart than everyone else in this entire city combined! And you don't know a single thing about her so stop trying to act like you do!"

The guard pulled back a punch when Galk walked up and stopped him. "Let go of me."

"We're done. Now let's move along." He said as he walked out the other glaring at the boy before he left.

"Jerk! And don't come back you hear me?" he shouted after them.

"I'm surprised you were able to come up with that nonsense on the spot." she said coolly.

"Right, the stuff about you being my sister is made up but I do think you're a kind person at heart. You don't have to be human to be kind." He said rubbing the back of his head. "Is something wrong?"

"If that man had attacked you I wouldn't have stepped in to help, no matter how hard he beat you." She said coldly "If you're looking to me for kindness I'd advise you not to bother. I assure you in time you will only find yourself disappointed and hurt." With that she walked out the door.

"Okay…" he replied sadly. "Wait, was that you? Who knocked out those guards and broke their bones?"

"No."

"Then who could-"

'I don't know, but I plan on finding out who."

* * *

><p>Eli had just gotten out of Ivan and Stephan's and was walking down the street in his new trench coat. He had to admit they had done amazing work. The coat had all the items he usually carried with him and was still ¾ empty, and what was better even at 100% capacity they guaranteed it wouldn't show on the outside, it was better than he could have dreamed as he walked down in his new coat and boots.<p>

"_Better head over to the cathedral, might be some evidence to find this yoma. But first…"_Eli reached into one of his many pockets and produced the file Zora had given him looking through it till he found a paper titled "Voracious Eaters"

* * *

><p>Clare had once again entered the cathedral as she and Vincent talked softly so no one else could hear.<p>

"So both of your sentries appear to have been eaten?" Clare asked monotonously

"Yes."

"It sounds to me like your cathedral is infested with a voracious eater." She concluded

"What is a "voracious eater"?" Vincent asked her curiously

"A yoma's appetite increases everyday it's alive, they also become more cunning and strong. Yoma that display these specific types of characteristics are called voracious eaters." She explained.

The priest widened his eyes at this.

"It's very probable that the voracious eater chooses to hide here because warriors are forbidden from entering the city. Our unique ability to detect yoma is useless when we can't get near them." She finished.

"Do you think we'll be alright given the circumstances?" he asked.

She paused before continuing "I need more information such as which people could have entered or exited the cathedral yesterday evening, in addition to those who are allowed to stay in the grounds overnight. Hopefully the list is small.

"After sunset no one comes and goes. Inside only the priests the monks and a few chosen guards are allowed to stay within the cathedral."

* * *

><p>"<em>I see… the bastards, so that's why…"<em> Eli thought as he finished reading the paper and was walking up the steps into the church. As he looked up he saw the warrior descend into the baptismal chamber and Vincent who wore a rather grim look.

"Still having problems I see…" Eli observed as Vincent's face turned even grimmer.

"Yes, another two died last night."

"I can tell, the smell of blood is pungent in the air."

"Eli I'm not sure what we should do, the claymore doesn't seem to be helping things."

Eli put a hand on his shoulder and smiled warmly "Have faith father, we will see this through."

"You are right, I have to stay strong, for the church."

"For the church." Eli echoed, "Now tell me what you have told her."

* * *

><p>Clare walked through the cathedral as the bell began to toll her time was almost up as she thought to herself, her heels clacking against the cold stone floor. <em>"Just as I was expecting the most probable place for it to be is somewhere inside here. However, I don't understand why the creature would choose to stay within such a confined space like this cathedral. <em>She stopped pacing _"Something's not adding up… I feel like I'm forgetting something."_

* * *

><p>Eli had returned to the bar just as the sun was setting, Arleen had closed up shop early as she was making her room more accommodating. Eli trudged up the steps as she and Miata were playing a game of tag in the small confines of the room.<p>

"Hmph, I think I liked it better when you two didn't get along."

"Don't be that way Eli!" Arleen replied with her tongue stuck out at him playfully.

"Yeah, Eli." Miata mimicked Arleen's tone as she then proceeded to also mimic her action.

"Great, I let her hang around you too much Arleen and pretty soon she'll be running bars and talking like you."

"What's wrong with the way I talk?

"Nothing, nothing, forget I said anything." Eli said quickly, as he sat down in his chair.

"Won't you join me in bed?" Arleen asked seductively.

"No thanks, I think the maximum occupancy in that bed is one and a half and you are the one," he said pointing a finger at Arleen, "and she is the half." he finished as he pointed towards Miata as she climbed into the bed.

"Aww…" she and Miata said together in mock disappointment just as the sun had set giving way to nightfall, pulling the covers up and properly going to bed as Eli just closed his eyes and rested for a time.

"_Women_…"

* * *

><p>After an hour of waiting Eli opened his eyes as he heard the soft breathing coming from the bed, figuring this was the best time to leave he got up and made for the window and had unlatched the lock when he heard a yawn behind him.<p>

"Eli what are you doing?" Arleen asked groggy from sleep as Miata was still fast asleep beside her.

"Just out for a bit."

"Eli no, you shouldn't go out, it isn't safe."

"Arleen…"

"No! I forbid you to go!"

"You can't stop me Arleen."

Arleen sighed and walked up to Eli in her nightie "I know, just one thing though?"

"Yeah? Wha-"Eli was cut off in reply as Arleen leaned in and closed her eyes as she quickly gave Eli a brief, but fiery kiss as his own eyes widened in surprise.

Eli was stunned as he looked down at her as she pulled away. "Arleen what was-"

"Just in case, you know, so I have something of you to remember by." she said with a look on the verge of tears.

Eli's eyes softened as he embraced her in a brief hug then letting go and looking directly into her eyes holding her shoulders. "I promise I'll be back Arleen. Alright?"

She nodded and he turned back to the window as he jumped out onto the roof and out of sight.

"Be safe…" she whispered after him.

* * *

><p>Clare jumped across the rooftops when the guards from before spotted her from the ground. Eli was about few dozen yards away as he followed behind her.<p>

"Did you see that?" Galk asked him.

"It's the girl from earlier. Bet that other guy's around here too, better get the others." The other replied.

Clare skidded to a stop as the two guards from before blocked her way; she looked on impassively at the two of them.

* * *

><p>Eli was running right behind when an arrow barrage was fired in front of him impeding his way. he looked around him as he was once again surrounded, but this time there were about four times as many guards as before.<p>

"You have hurt many of our men." one spoke up as the other leered at Eli.

"I assure you, after they gave me the chance to surrender I returned the favor and they fired at me. It wasn't my fault." He replied back, inciting some of them.

The guard who first spoke raised his hand and the others silenced. "You have violated our city's laws and assaulted out guards for that you must pay."

"I don't seem to have my money with me… perhaps if I ran home I could get-" he was cut off by the twang of a cross-bow as the bolt was fired at Eli who easily caught and crushed the incoming projectile, slightly astonishing the guards present.

"No more games. Now you die." The guard said solemnly as he held up his sword then down toward s Eli signaling the attack.

"How about…no?" Eli replied as he disappeared only to reappear next to one of the guards to his left, wrenching the blade out from his grip and knocking him out with the pommel. _"What a pain…"_

* * *

><p>"Well now…" the more talkative guard started as he flipped around the dagger in his hand. "Looks like you're out of excuses this time. Your little brother isn't here to stand up for you."<p>

Clare pulled down her hood revealing her facial features as Galk slightly gasped and the talkative guard's face just turned into a smirk.

"Her eyes are silver. Hell, even the expression on her face is different."

Clare drew her long daggers as she began to address them both casually "Unfortunately I don't have time to talk, your efforts are appreciated, but they're not needed. Should you attack me the consequences will be dire."

"Don't you threaten us! Or do you want your friend to pay the price?" he motioned over to Eli's position as the guards surrounded him.

"I have no idea who you mean, I do not know that man, now get out of my way or I will be forced to remove you."

"Don't you threaten us!" The guard barked as he drew his knives.

Galk charged her as he threw his knives at her. "Take that!"

Clare easily blocked the projectiles as she then parried the blow of Galk, she then blocked the incoming daggers behind her back with her right hand while still parrying with her left. Galk took a wild swing at her as Clare jumped back onto the roof behind her.

The talkative guard came up to Galk "She's too good with both of those blades work on getting rid of one."

"I'll try." He replied as he charged her once more.

She blocked him easily as she raised one of her daggers to strike which he caught with his hand, slightly surprising Clare as she let out a small gasp.

"Now!" Galk shouted to his comrade who quickly released daggers down onto Clare.

She shoved Galk away deflecting the daggers then back flipping onto a pole, as the two guards just looked on in awe.

"No doubt," the talkative guard said to his companion "she's a claymore just look at those eyes."

A screaming was heard in the distance as the three looked towards the source.

"The cathedral…" Galk observed as Clare leapt down to the streets below.

"She's on the move, after her!" shouted his companion as they followed in pursuit.

* * *

><p>Eli was blocking blows from all sides when he heard the scream <em>"The cathedral…"<em>

"Get away! Let me go! I need to be somewhere!" he shouted at them as they continued their assault on him.

"Don't let up on him men! Not until he's paid for his crimes!" A guard shouted rallying the others as they continued the assault.

Eli continued to parry every blow he saw as he knocked the wave back only to come back for more. _"Damn it. Can't fight with yoki or I'll be exposed, plus I don't wanna kill them of course. Got to hurry up and take these guys out so I can kill that yoma."_ Eli fought as he knocked out yet another guard.

"Did you hear that scream?" One guard asked the other as a blur rushed by them.

"What was that?" the other asked in confusion.

Clare rushed into the darkened halls barely lit by the slight moonlight from the high windows. She could feel the yoma's presence engulfing her. _"It's here, the yoma's yoki is overwhelming. Maybe it's a side effect of the medicine, but I still can't pinpoint the yoma's location._

Clare continued to walk deeper into the cathedral when she saw a body lying face down on the floor, the smell of blood was heavy in the air, like a fog. She bent down to examine him. _"It's another guard, he's been eaten recently. I knew it, a voracious eater did this to him"_ Her train of thought was interrupted by heavy breathing as a hulking form smashed down on her, only to be evaded by her superior agility, but not entirely as she was nicked on her arm. _"I never expected this yoma to be so powerful…"_

The yoma roared at her but was stopped as knives flew through the air and stuck into the beast's shoulder.

"What is that?" the talkative guard asked.

"A gigantic yoma!" Galk quickly surmised.

"Stay back!" Clare called to them, as the yoma charged and brought his claws down upon them, only for them to be saved as Clare jumped in the way. The guards were shocked as they watched her form fall and crumple to the floor before returning their gaze to the task at hand.

"How in the hell are we supposed to fight that thing?" the talkative guard asked bewildered.

"Just keep your guard up and don't let it get away!" Galk barked back.

The yoma charged at the two of them bringing its arm up again to strike.

"Look out!" Galk warned.

The yoma stopped its charge as a knife whirled thought the air past the guards and into it's eye as the beast stumbled back in pain and roared. Clare was up again though breathing heavily and bleeding.

The yoma pulled out the blade from its eye and let it drop to the floor with a clank before jumping up in the air.

"What the-" the talkative guard started.

Clare kicked him in the stomach as he landed a yard behind her. 'Hey witch what was that for?"

The yoma's claws came down as he realized that had he been standing there like he had a moment ago he would have been dead.

Clare sliced into its arm while Galk charged at it.

"Just get back!" she ordered as Galk's sword was snapped in half "You two don't stand a chance against it!"

The yoma parted its fingers and extended them to pierce Galk but Clare saved him in time by pinning the arm to the ground just as the claws barely missed their target.

"You'll die if you stay!" Clare shouted to the two of them.

The yoma raised his other hand as he pierced her body causing her to gasp in pain and shock as the guards too looked on in surprise.

The yoma roared a triumphant roar as he held her still body for them to see, smiling devilishly.

* * *

><p><em>SNAP<em> that was the sound that the guard's spear made as he snapped it into two and knocked out the last guard, bodies strewn all around him all injured but alive.

"_Finally done with these fools…"_ Eli's senses suddenly perked as he felt yoki fading rapidly, it was coming from the cathedral. It was the warrior's. Eli's eyes widened as he quickly jumped down from the rooftops and made it pass the guards into the cathedral. _"Damn. I pray I'm not too late."_ Eli stopped as he laid his shielded eyes on the scene; two guards were standing on one side while a giant yoma was standing on the other his claws piercing the body of the warrior.

The yoma threw down the body as it turned its attention to the other two, who braced themselves in anticipation.

As the yoma drew near Eli heard the sound of clanking metal boots as they made their way towards their location. The yoma also hearing the sound turned around to flee.

"Stop right there!" the talkative guard barked.

The yoma ignoring him bounded up into the darkness of the cathedral's top as it disappeared out of sight.

"_I could chase after him," _Eli looked over to the warrior's still form as she bled on the floor_" but I have other things I have to make sure of."_

Galk approached the warrior as Eli remained still behind the two unaware of his presence.

"She put up a hell of a fight, she gotta be dead." The shorted one quipped.

Galk bent down and listened for her heartbeat, he did. "No I can still hear her heart beat." He picked her up in his arms and Eli raised a brow in curiosity.

"Galk, what are you doing? Put her down she's just a monster." The shorter one said.

Eli just looked on _"Typical human."_

"Look she may be a claymore, but she saved my life, I at least owe her this much." Galk responded.

Eli looked impassive as he made his way from the cathedral. _"Perhaps not all of them are so bad though."_

* * *

><p>The morning rang and Eli had waited on the call of Vincent, meanwhile Arleen was giving him hell for all the worrying he made her do.<p>

"You ass! I hope next time you don't come back! I hope the guard comes around and locks you up and throws away the keys!" she berated him as Miata just stared impassively at the wall.

"I bet you do…" Eli replied trying to tune out the nagging of Arleen as she laid into him.

"Hey!" she bellowed grabbing his ear and putting her mouth next to it as she yelled into it. "Are you listening to me?"

"Ow, ow, ow! Yes! Gods! Just let go already!" Eli replied as he held onto his ear.

There was a clanking at the bar door when a group of guards came in. The patrons all stopped to stare and then went about their business more inconspicuously than before.

"You there!" one of them barked as he pointed a shining finger at Eli.

"_Ah, damn it."_ "Is there something I can help you with?" Eli said getting from his seated position as he walked over to the group looking down on the man who addressed him.

"The Father Vincent requests your presence."

"_Time to get to work then."_ "Very well, tell the Father that I will be there momentarily, you may go now." Eli stated as he waved the guards off.

They didn't move. "We have been told to escort you directly and immediately, if you'll come with us, before we have to resort to…force." The guard said as he drew out the word as if in reluctance.

"Seems like you already know the likely result should it come to that." Eli said dryly as he recognized some of the guards who had ambushed him as they undoubtedly recognized him and their glares intensified. Not wanting to make trouble for Arleen or Miata though… "Fine then, let us be on our way, Arleen?"

"Yeah, yeah I got it. Watch the kid." she said with a sigh.

"Thanks, Miata be a good girl, okay?" Eli smiled at her as she nodded and waved to him, before turning his back on them and walking out the door.

* * *

><p>Clare lay on a bed in the upper cathedral as the father, and the guards from the night surrounded her bedside. Her boy companion rushed into the room.<p>

"Clare! Clare!" he called for her as he rushed to her side. "Tell me is she going to be alright?"

"Unfortunately that remains to be seen. We just don't know where to begin to treat a claymore. The Father stated solemnly as he looked down on her form. "I have sent for a specialist though, he should be here soon."

The boy stopped for a moment as his words registered. "A specialist? Can he save Clare?" he asked desperately.

"I don't know." The father replied honestly.

"What are you saying? You can't mean that Clare might actually-"

"Die?" the guard from behind him sneered as he finished the question.

"I don't see what all the fuss is about." He continued, "A couple of monsters just tried to kill each other. It's not something to waste your tears over." The boy gritted his teeth and was about to strike when a voice from the doorway cut in.

"Perhaps that's true, but you better thank your lucky stars that so-called monster was there to protect you or you wouldn't be around to walk all over her would-be grave."

The group turned to look as a white short-spiked haired man stood in the doorway, guards flanking him on his left and right.

"Hey Vincent, can you call these guys off? They're really starting to irritate me." Eli stated as the guards just continued their glares.

Vincent dismissed the guards with a wave of his hand as the guards saluted and returned to their post giving Eli one last stink-eye as they left. Eli strode into the room and stopped a few feet from the rest.

"Who the hell is this?" the talkative guard barked before recognizing him "I know him! He's the one who has been trying to kill the guards at night! I remember them saying something about a white haired stranger! It was you, wasn't it?" he pointed an accusatory finger at Eli.

"Believe me if my goal was to kill, I could have easily done it." Eli replied coolly.

"Why you!" the guard pulled out knives ready to pounce.

"Sid, don't. This isn't the time for that." Galk called to him as Sid begrudgingly put his daggers away. He brushed past Eli with aversion as he left the room.

"Guess I'll go back to my post." He called back without looking as he walked out of sight.

The boy sat down as he sobbed slightly trying to hold back tears. "Bastard..."

Vincent walked over to kneel down next to the boy. "Are you alright?"

Eli watched impassively as the boy continued sobbing softly.

"Stop crying." Galk said as he turned to look at the boy. "I believe there is a great power in faith, believe in her and she'll pull through."

"And now that the specialist is here her chances are greatly improved." Vincent added as he helped to comfort the boy, who has stopped crying and was still sniffling.

The boy looked up and saw Eli, standing up he grabbed Eli's arm and dragged him over to the bedside. "Please, you have to help Clare!"

Eli looked from the boy then to "Clare" and back again. _"Clare.. where have I heard that name before?"_ "Tell me boy what is your name?"

"Raki…" the boy replied as he wiped his nose again.

"I see… Vincent if you may leave the room with these two for a moment while I do my work, it would be most appreciative." Eli stated as he looked over to Vincent who nodded in understanding as he motioned for Galk to follow him.

"Wait! What are you going to do?" Raki asked.

"Worry about my intentions, eh? There's no need for concern I assure you." Eli said as he flashed Raki a small smile before turning back around to begin.

"Wait." Raki stated as he felt Vincent's arm to lead him out of the room. "Can… I stay to help?"

Vincent looked to Eli who turned to Raki then back around again "Not necessary."

"Please!" Raki pleaded as tears started to well up again. "Please…" he said more softly. Vincent looked to Eli who was gazing at the bow as he bowed his head. Eli nodded his head and Vincent let go turning to the doorway and leaving as Galk followed suite, closing the door behind him.

Eli pointed towards the curtains on the windows. "Draw those close."

Raki did as he was told as Eli got into position beside Clare as Raki finished closing the curtains and took a standing position on the other side of Clare across from Eli.

"What's… what's your name?" Raki asked tentatively.

"Eli." He replied simply looking down on Clare then looking back up at Raki, he spoke in a stern voice. "You will ask no questions of me and speak of none of what you are about to see here unless I give you permission to do so, is that understood?"

Raki looked at Eli seriously nodding his head in understanding.

"Good, then let's begin." Eli took off his gloves, Raki's eyes widened as he observed the alien-like appendage, he then took Clare's hand with his human hand and laid his more monstrous hand on top of her forehead as he began to concentrate. Reaching out with his yoki slightly he touched and synched with hers a small green-blue glow surrounded Eli and Clare as he concentrated. Now in control of her yoki Eli concentrated on healing as the wounds on Clare's body began to close before Raki's eyes. He looked to Eli and saw behind his dark rims two glowing orbs before the aura died down and the glow faded, returning the eyes to their former obscurity.

"_Her wounds are mended, now just one more thing before I'm done."_ Eli concentrated once more as the glowing of yoki continued albeit much dimmer than before. Concentrating on her mind he accessed her subconscious as he watched her memories flash before his eyes, diving deeper and deeper as he watched. He saw her fighting with the yoma, then the guards, then of her talking to the innkeeper, then of her and Raki entering Rabona.

"_Not what I was looking for, have to search deeper."_ Her memories continued to flash by as Eli watched. Her saw her euthanize another warrior, then crossing a desert with Raki, then of her saving him and meeting him in his village.

"_This is taking too long, have to find her earliest memories."_ He sped up the memories becoming even more of a blur as they flashed by at high speeds, only fragments to be seen as Eli combed through her mind. Then he saw something that caught his eye as the memory flashed by, a faint smile.

"_Could it be?"_ He accessed the memory and watched it play before him in real-time. There was no sound as the memory played but he was stunned as he watched. A girl, no, a warrior was faintly smiling and looking down at him, she had wavy blond hair and wore the usual outfit of a warrior. Next to her was a man with his back turned as he was looking out on the horizon. He recognized this man well. As the man turned around to give a grin, Eli saw his features. He looked in his early-twenties his hair was silver, short and spiky, with a large bandaged object on his back, looking like a wooden cross fit for crucifixion. He also wore a torn cloak and gray trousers while a gray shirt covered his chest and the same bandages covering the cross-like object covered his abdomen. Most striking were his eyes, which were concealed by a pair of dark-rimmed welding goggles. The memory faded as Eli opened his eyes _"Unbelieveable…"_

"Is she… is she okay?" Raki asked slowly as Eli put his gloves back on.

"She'll be fine." Eli replied curtly. "Her wounds are mended but she'll still be out for many hours still. Her stamina is very low right now, she still needs much rest."

Raki looked relieved as Eli walked over to the bookcase and took on of the books cracking it open as he scanned the pages. "Thank you for what you've done."

"Don't mention it." Eli replied flippantly not taking his eyes off the book. "You have no reason to worry about her safety now. You may leave if you wish."

"No, I think I'll stay and wait for her to wake up." Raki answered as he got a chair and sat by her bedside.

"Could be a long wait." Eli reminded him still not looking up from his reading.

"I don't mind." Raki replied.

"Tell me something… Raki was it?" Eli started closing his book and turning to face him fully.

"What?" Raki inquired wondering what he was asking about.

"Do you have feelings for this… girl?" Eli said using the term very loosely.

"W-what! N-n-no… I just… care what happens to her that's all!" Raki replied a bit too quickly as Eli smirked slightly amused at the boy's swift and hurried response.

"Why?" Eli asked simply. "Most humans are afraid of 'claymores', so why do you follow her?"

Raki was silent for a moment looking down at Clare then spoke. "My whole family was wiped out by yoma; she was the one that killed the one responsible. I guess I just didn't want to be all alone in the world." Raki started choking on the words a bit at the end as he held back bitter tears.

"I see." Eli nodded his head in understanding.

"What about you? You're some kind of yoma expert?" Raki asked

"Did I not make myself clear before?" Eli snapped at him as Raki looked down to avoid his unseen yet somehow intimidating gaze.

"S-sorry, I won't ask again." Raki said apologetically.

Eli's eyes grew slightly softer, "It's fine, just… don't ask me unless I say it's alright to." he then walked over to a seat and sat down.

"Aren't you going to leave?" Raki asked again more cautiously.

"Actually there was something I wanted to ask her, if you don't mind." Eli said flatly, picking up the previous tomb and reading once more.

"No, that's fine. It's nice to have company, and I'm sure Clare would want to thank the one who saved her." Raki said sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. Eli grunted in response.

* * *

><p><em>Hours Passed...<em>

* * *

><p>Raki waited by Clare's beside and hadn't moved his hands clasped tight as he prayed for her. Eli flipped few a few more books skimming them to pass the time.<p>

* * *

><p><em>More hours passed...<em>

* * *

><p>Clare's eyes slowly opened as Vincent opened the door, Raki was lying still on the bed face down while Eli sat just out of view of Clare's vision still reading his books, but noticing her awakening as he sat the one he was reading down.<p>

"You're awake well thank goodness for that." Vincent said with the same kind smile he usually wore.

"I'm sorry father; I must have been so much trouble." She replied sitting up and noticing Raki by her side.

"Oh no, no trouble at all." He replied while Eli observed the exchange from his seat.

"How long have I been unconscious?"

"Since the day before yesterday. Raki stayed by your side the entire time. He kept constant vigil in the hopes that you would open your eyes." Vincent informed her as she looked down at Raki.

"Forgive me Father but I need a favor…" Clare started but then stopped as she noticed another presence in the room that was getting up from his seat and making his way over to her bedside.

"Who is this?" she asked

"This is the man who helped-" Vincent began to explain but stopped as Eli held up his hand.

"Father? Would you excuse us for a moment there was something I wished to discus in private with her." Eli said, Clare looked over at him and recognized him as the same figure that was fighting the other guards the night before.

Vincent looked from Eli then to Clare who nodded and took his leave closing the door behind him.

"Who are you?" Clare demanded her usual calm, efficient, business-like personality resuming as she addressed Eli who was now at her bedside opposite of Raki. Eli however was unfazed by her directness he could tell this whole "the world doesn't matter to me" attitude wasn't fooling him one bit. He could tell she was holding back a wave of emotion behind that supposedly cold calculating mask, but decided not to comment on it, least it open up the floodgates.

"I'm just the guy who saved your life; you're welcome by the way." Eli replied dryly as he gazed down at her.

Clare touched her bandages and found that he was correct about one thing, the pain was gone. Not even a trace of a wound remained as she looked back to him. "Thank you." She said after a moment of pause. "You didn't answer my question though."

Eli grunted as he pulled up a chair and sat down now at her eye level. "True, I suppose I owe you at least that courtesy. My name is Eli as yours is Clare."

"How do you know my name?" she asked now somewhat defensive.

"Are you kidding? It's all he mutters in his sleep." Eli said gesturing to Raki. "Plus we've met before."

"When?" she asked

"Many, many years ago." Eli said with a smile.

This puzzled Clare. Eli? It did sound familiar. But, where? Where? Where? Then her look of puzzlement turned to one of shock as he head turned quickly back on him as Eli's smile faded into a slight smirk at her reaction.

"Eli? Is… is it really you?" she said slowly reaching out touching his face. Eli only nodded slowly.

Clare threw her arms over Eli's shoulders buried her face in his shirt and cried softly, "Damn you… Eli I thought you were dead."

Eli's face felt to a grimace as he put one arm around her shoulder and patted it. "Forgive me Clare, I was all alone when I recovered from… well, you know. Perhaps had I been a little stronger she wouldn't have died and you wouldn't have had to live this life."

Clare looked up at him now wiping the tears from her eyes, her face starting to resume its ever-present mask as she regained her composure. "How did you survive?"

"She was close to killing me, closer than I've been to death in a while, but she didn't finish me, and here I am. Judging from what I now know, I'd say you thought I was dead and used her flesh to fuse and become a warrior, that would also explain why you have her yoki. Nothing like that's ever been done before you know." Eli said plainly guessing at what likely happened.

Clare nodded. Eli continued "I still can't see why you would do this, I mean you're not even half-yoma, like she was, like I am, you're only a quarter yoma. Do you really think that someone who took her out, who took me out and not to mention those other top three warriors could be taken down by someone like you?"

Clare only kept her silence for a moment as she now slightly glared at him. "She killed her Eli." she said slowly and vehemently "Did you expect me to just sit down and cry over her body while her killer is out there committing unspeakable atrocities? Do you even care that she's dead?"

It was Eli's turn for silence as he answered slowly choosing his words with careful consideration. "Of course I do, she meant a lot to me as well. She was a good woman and friend. I am only saying this: Do you think this is the kind of life she would have meant for you to have after she was gone? To take on a monster like that? A beast so powerful it killed her and the other warriors, not to mention she even took me out with ease. So what chance do you think you, a half-breed of a half-breed, could do against her might?"

Clare's eyes darkened as her hair fell in front of them. "It doesn't matter anymore what she would want, she's dead."

Eli's eyes widened slightly at her cold comment. Clare continued "I don't care how powerful she is, I'm going to kill her and nothing you say is going to stop me. I don't care if this isn't what she intended, it's what I want."

Eli gave her a hard gaze as he observed her resolve then leaned back in his chair with a sigh, "You really are more trouble than you're worth you know that?" Clare eyes softened as she looked at him as he continued "fine then, if that's what you want, but I'm coming with you."

Clare opened her mouth to protest but Eli held up his hand "If that's truly your goal then you need someone around who can help you achieve it. Plus, she would never forgive me if I let you try to do this all on your own while I'm still around to do some good."

Clare nodded her head as she looked down at Raki "What'll we tell him?"

"We're two old friends off to find and kill the greatest, most powerful monster the world has ever known." Eli said jovially. Clare gave him a hard look causing Eli to put up his hands in defense. "Alright, alright, sheesh. We'll cut out the last part and just say I'm an old friend who wants to travel with you guys to keep you company."

Clare nodded once more and as Eli turned around towards the door. "Father! We're ready for that favor from before!" Vincent walked in as walked over to the bedside and listened closely to her request.

* * *

><p>The night fell as all of the cathedral's occupants were gathered around the main hall. Vincent spoke up to address them all. "I'm sorry to have called all of you so late in the night. But, I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist that you trust me for a while."<p>

"What is this about Vincent?" another priest spoke up.

"A yoma investigation." Vincent replied gasps were heard all around as the crowd murmured among themselves.

"What? A yoma investigation?" the same priest speaking up. "You mean that thing is hiding somewhere amongst us?"

"It's quite possible." Vincent replied "and considering what we've all been through I don't believe that we can afford to take any chances." With that Clare and Eli stepped into view, the priest looking aghast when they saw Clare's silver eyes.

"Her eyes…" another priest spoke up "those are the eyes of a witch."

"Outrageous! Vincent, are you responsible for bringing that demon here?" the priest from before barked.

"_Though crowd…" _Eli thought as he observed the mixed looks of shock and outrage _"You'd think they'd be more cooperative considering the situation. Guess humans will never change."_

"Unfortunately I didn't have a choice." Vincent replied.

"Would somebody please tell me what is going on here?" an old voice called from the back as he stepped up to the front of the gathering.

"Vincent! How dare you!" The priest barked once more. "You're including the arch-bishop in this investigation of yours? You're insane! Do you hear me!" He was cut short as guards surrounded him as well as the other priests.

"Why Vincent?" he asked.

"Please, we need your cooperation. These two will know if there is indeed a yoma among us." Vincent said sternly. Clare and Eli then stepped forward as Clare reached for the outraged priest's face and looked into his eyes while Eli stood close behind her.

Sid and Galk were present and were observing the affairs. Sid spoke up "I don't like this; she's a damn monster for God's sake, and that other guy with her, what's his deal? A yoma specialist? I've never heard of anything like that, and he took out dozens of our men! Why are we just standing here?"

"It's Father Vincent's orders." Galk replied not taking his eyes off the gathering as Clare and Eli made their way from the first priest to each find another as Eli went up to another priest while Clare went up to hers. "Good." They said simultaneously confirming their non-yoma status. "Next."

"I know." Sid said with disgust "I can't believe what they expect of us, this is crazy. Are you really going through with it?"

"It's simple enough." Galk replied "They locate the yoma and trap it in a vulnerable place. We spear them and the monster at the same time. It's so unfortunate, but then again she's able to heal herself so quickly, I just don't see any other options at this point."

"This is our fight." Sid protested.

"We can't fight this thing alone. We need all the help we can get even with them." Galk reprimanded him "Don't let your pride get to you."

"It's not about pride!"

"Enlighten me."

"Humans should defend humans, that's it. Damn!" Sid's face grimaced more as he looked at the two going from priest to priest.

"You're fine." Clare said as she finished inspected another priest. "As are you." Eli said to his own priest as he finished inspecting him.

"Thank you." The priest replied.

"_I don't understand…"_ Clare thought.

"_Something's not right here…"_ Eli thought

"_I can't sense a yoma anywhere."_ They thought simultaneously. _"If it were here it would be missing its right eye but everyone checks out."_

* * *

><p>Raki was in the baptismal room while waiting for Clare, carrying around the statue as he laid it down with a grunt, then jumping up and sitting down on the tomb's edge as the decomposing corpse stared listlessly up at the ceiling. "Why in the world do I have to wait out here? This baptism chamber is really creepy. Especially with that guy in here." He said looking in on the corpse.<p>

* * *

><p>"You're fine." They said simultaneously finishing their inspections. "Only two left." Eli whispered to her.<p>

"I know." she replied, walking up to the archbishop's and looking into his old eyes, after a moment they widened in surprise. _"He's not a yoma either."_

"Tell me, do I pass?" he asked.

"Yes." She replied.

The guards raised their spears. "Only one left." Galk affirmed looking at the remaining priest, Father Vincent himself.

The guards surrounded him on all sides. "Wait! What are you doing?" Vincent asked looking around as he was surrounded.

"I apologize Father, but I can't afford to make exceptions." Clare walked forward to inspect him. Eli simply stood in place as he watched her walk.

"But I'm not-" Vincent started as Clare came face to face with him.

"This will only take a moment." She affirmed looking into his eyes, as the guards stood at the ready.

"_Something's not right here."_ Eli thought again. _"Vincent's no yoma, and I can't sense that bastard anywhere among these people., what the hell's going on?"_

"_What? It's not him! He's human."_ Clare thought as she confirmed Eli's suspicions.

There were murmurs among the gathering as uneasiness took hold.

"_This can't be right…" _Clare thought.

"…_it has to be in the cathedral…"_ Eli thought along with Clare as they shared similar thoughts.

"…_why can't I find it?"_

"…_did I miss something?"_

"…_what am I not thinking of…"_

"…_stop. Think like a yoma..."_

"…_it doesn't care who it uses to hide so long as it stays hidden…"_

"…_man…"_

"…_woman…"_

"…_the elders…"_

"… _even a child…"_

"…_even…"_ The both became ridged as their eyes widened together in synchronized realization. _"…the body of a corpse!"_

* * *

><p>Raki was still sitting alone in the baptismal chamber looking over the body with slight revulsion. "You're disgusting. Ugh." He said looking away and leaping off the tomb to the floor. "Whew, they got to be done with the investigation by now." He didn't notice the stirring and movement behind him as a long decrepit hand griped the side of the tomb.<p>

* * *

><p>Clare and Eli were flying down the hallway towards the baptismal chamber.<p>

"_How could I have been so stupid?"_ Eli mentally scolded himself.

"_Raki…"_ Clare thought her head filled with concern.

* * *

><p>Raki sighed "Clare should be fine, I hope. I mean that Eli guy seemed to be alright." Raki then heard shuffling behind him as he turned to look and saw the giant one-eyed yoma now towering over him, as it roared. Raki was stupefied as he stared at the mass of a monster looking down on him, the yoma then swinging it's arm down to attack. Raki felt a fore on his chest as he was pushed back into one of the pillars on the opposite wall. "What the hell was that?" he asked rubbing the back of his head.<p>

Raki looked up and saw the yoma's hand was pinned down by a dagger while he heard a whooshing sound as Clare crouched beside him. "Clare, you're here!" Raki said surprised by her sudden appearance.

"Did it hurt you? Are you alright?" she inquired looking over at him.

Raki nodded "I'm fine." The yoma pulled out the dagger and tossed it to the side as Clare took up a defensive position between Raki and the yoma.

"Don't worry Raki, I won't let him get you." Clare affirmed. "Just get out of here. Now!"

"Watch out!" Raki warned as the yoma spread his claws out and extended his fingers. Clare pushed Raki to the side as she dodged the fingers piercing the pillar behind them.

"Raki!" Clare cried as the yoma leapt towards Raki ready to overtake him.

"Stay back!" Clare shouted at the yoma who ignored her as it brought down it's claw upon Raki. It never made contact as Eli held back the claw with the dagger he had picked up from the floor. Galk and Sid soon entered after them into the baptismal chamber and began to help fight the beast.

Sid threw daggers at the yoma gaining its attention. "It's time to run brat!" he ordered to Raki, who quickly complied as he made for the exit. The yoma began to reach for Raki using his other hand as Eli was busy blocking the first. But Clare leapt and came down on the other arm with her dagger, the yoma bellowed in pain. The yoma then turned its attention back to Eli as it widened its hand preparing to extend its fingers.

Galk rushed the yoma on Eli's side "Get back you!" he shouted as he brought his sword down on the yoma's finger chopping them off as purple blood dripped on the floor. The yoma then turned to Galk as more dagger landed in its neck courtesy of Sid, which gave Eli, Galk and Clare enough distraction to gain little distance. "We'll take over from here! Why don't you guys stop trying to save everybody yourself?" he shouted over to Eli and Clare. "I think you've done enough, besides I doubt you could even save this boy with all that fatigue. And you! I still don't trust you after all the guards of ours you've shamed. This is our city, you two hear me? We have sworn to protect it with our lives!"

"Look you two just take care of the boy and yourselves, we'll take down this monster." Galk affirmed as he held his sword close. "Sid is right this is our city, and this yoma has defiled our sacred grounds for far too long! Let's go!"

Eli just shook his head at the utter foolishness. _"Are they really that stubborn?"_

They surrounded the yoma as Galk charged it Swinging down his sword at it, the yoma blocked with his claws as Sid continued his daggered assault. Clare jumped in the air and came down on it with her dagger as the yoma blocked a head wound with his other hand. Eli quickly dived under the yoma and slashed at it legs causing it to stagger slightly. _"Damn."_ Clare thought at the observation of almost hitting the yoma with a killing blow as it threw her away into a wall.

Galk charged at it again only to be punched back into the pillars his sword flying as the yoma caught it and prepared to bring it down on him. Clare blocked the blow as she felt the unrelenting force of the blade and the yoma's strength on top of her. Her vision slightly blurred as her recently healed wounds were becoming agitated, she hadn't gotten the rest she should have and it was beginning to take its toll.

The yoma reared again and brought down the blade only for Eli to stand in it's way blocking the blow he then jumped out of the way the yoma now putting all it's attention on him..

Raki and Sid were off to the side watching the assault as Sid gritted his teeth in frustration. Raki then ran off to the side towards the statue. "Hey!" Sid called after him

Galk noticed him going near the fight as well, as Clare took a momentary breather beside him as Eli continued his bout with the yoma. "Hey! Get back here boy! There's nothing you can do!"

"I have to!" Raki shouted back as he grabbed the statue. "Clare needs this!"

"What is that thing?" Galk asked.

Raki grabbed the statue and lifted it "Just make sure she gets it!" he replied.

Eli had just defended another punishing blow when the blade broke. _"Uh oh."_

Galk quickly ran to Raki's side as he threw the stature to Clare who caught it and jumped in front of Eli just as the blow came down. The sword caused the statue to fracture then break, revealing its contents. A claymore as she pulled it out and faced the yoma once more, giving Eli her other dagger. Eli looked from the dagger and back to Clare now holding her Claymore. _"Clever, wish I had mine right now."_

Raki smiled as he saw Clare wield her weapon. The yoma widened its remaining eye in surprise at this. "**Claymore…**" it growled sounding like gravel in his throat as he croaked out the word.

She held out the blade in front of her as she spoke "Now yoma, you reign of terror ends tonight."

The yoma charged as he swung down the blade, Clare leapt into the air and countered with a downward swing of her own as the yoma brought up the blade to block it. Clare then leapt again and kicked the yoma in the face staggering it backwards. Eli looked on slightly impressed. _"Not bad for a little girl, wonder what number she worked herself up to?"_

"**That's it!**" the yoma bellowed extending it claws again and again as Clare dodged them. Working her way under the yoma and with a flash of steel sliced off it's right arm as it roared in pain and stumbled back it's arm, now a purple stained stub. Eli nodded his head in approval. _"Nice going kid."_

The yoma reeled back as the purple blood gushed out. It growled at her "**Ugh… Damn you bitch…**"

"Amazing…" Galk voiced as he stood in awe. "It's incredible what she can do with a sword, I've never seen anyone able to do what this Claymore's capable of."

"You haven't seen anything yet." Eli said getting up from his crouch to stand at full height as Galk looked over to him. "That's just the tip of the iceberg…"

"We've to help her." Raki said to them as he stood a safe distance away. The three turned to look at him as he continued "Clare's pushing it. She's hurting, she doesn't have much left.":

"He's right." Eli said now the new center of attention for the other three. "Her wounds are healed but at this rate she's liable to reopen them. She should have rested more than she did, she needed it. I worry what may happen should she try to fight much further."

Clare was breathing hard as her vision slightly blurred again. The yoma noticed this and chuckled to himself. "**You're not looking very good Claymore. Now I understand, you were only pretending to have the advantage. Weren't you?**" Clare didn't respond as her breathing was still ragged and tired.

"**I thought you were toying with me. But you really didn't want to prolong this. You were trying to end it with one blow. Instead of getting my arm, you wanted to take off my head.**" It observed as Clare just continued to breath steadily but heavily. Clare gasped as the yoma extended its other fingers and pierced her upper shoulder. "**Sorry to disappoint you, but this fight is mine now, Claymore!**" She jumped back but the yoma was faster. "**Be careful.**" It taunted as it pierced her again, swinging her into a pillar and dangling her in the air. "**Haha! You can do much better than this!**" it taunted once more. "**I believe you might be running out of blood. I didn't realize you Claymores were so light! Time to come down, NOW!**" he said as he slammed Clare into the floor. The yoma loomed over her. "**DIE!**" he shouted extending his claws to kill.

Galk jumped in the way taking the blow. Sid grabbed his sword now laying on the floor throwing it to him. "Galk!" he shouted to him gaining his attention as he caught the blade and cut the extruding fingers. The yoma reeled again as the fingers whipped back to their owner albeit shorter now. Eli was slightly impressed by this. _"Not bad for a human."_

"Are you alright? Can you stand?" Galk asked her as he took up a defensive position between her and the yoma. Clare struggled to sand but she was on her last legs. "Sorry, it doesn't look like there's much more we can do to help. You were right about us, we're no match for this thing. We're not even close. This is your guys show now and you can use us anyway you need. You two had just better bring that thing down!"

"If you really mean that than just stand back, you're only in the way." Eli stated as he ran over to Galk and Clare and held his dagger the same way he holds his knives. The yoma roared as Sid threw more of his knives at it. "Take this!" he shouted, they bounced off his skin as he pierced Sid's shoulder and held him in the air. Galk charged with his sword raised gaining the yoma's attention as he dropped Sid and turned to face him. Eli however was quicker and just as the yoma extended its claws to pierce his heart, he shoved Galk out of the way as the claws pierced his chest instead, causing him to cough up blood.

The yoma snarled at Eli "**Fool! Why would you do something so stupid? Now you die!**" Eli just smiled at him through his pained expression.

"What are you waiting for Clare? Now!" Eli shouted as Clare jumped up from behind him, screaming as she brought down her blade. The yoma tried to pull out but Eli grabbed the claws and wouldn't let go. "How do you like that yoma? A gift from a fool."

"**Bastards!**" it growled. Clare brought down her sword as she cleaved the other arm off, dropping to the floor like a load of dead weight. Its howls of pain echoed through the chamber. Clare crouched as she held the point of the claymore towards the yoma who ran forward and impaled his abdomen on it. Clare widened her eye at this _"What is he doing?"_

"**You can swing your sword anywhere you want down there and you won't hit anything vital!**" it bellowed as it leaned forward to bite her.

"Clare!" Raki shouted as he, Sid and Galk grimaced as they expected the worst.

"_Shit!"_ Eli thought as he knelt down and just closed his wounds as the yoma leaned forward to bite her head off.

Clare released her yoki as the yoma stopped as he noticed the sudden change. "So, you don't consider your head vital?" she asked her voice slightly distorted, her arm's vein pulsing out as she raised her sword up through the yoma's guts and head, bisecting it with a swift motion as a purple fountain of blood splattered everywhere.

"Yes, you killed the yoma!" Raki declared a grin spreading across his face and to the others present.

'Wow, that Claymore did it. She really is amazing." Sid said clutching his wounds on the floor.

"You're right about that Sid. She's truly incredible." Galk agreed.

Eli smiled at Clare as he looked over her handiwork then back to her. _"Heh…not bad at all."_ Eli thought wiping the blood from his mouth. Then suddenly he stopped and his face became one of seriousness and unease.

Raki noticed the change in Eli's expression. "What's wrong?" His question was answered as Clare fell to the floor, her whole body shaking and convulsing as the veins in her muscles popped out. Her eyes glowing bright gold as her breath became rough and ragged.

Raki rushed to her side and crouch to her level. "Are you alright? How can I help you?" he asked looking down at her arms as he muscles jolted and convulsed. "What's going on?" Raki asked straightening up.

"Raki! Get away from her!" Eli shouted to him. _"Damn it. I knew this would happen…"_

"What? Why? What's happening to her?" he asked.

Clare continued shuddering on the floor. "_It's no use. I've gone too far."_ She thought as she picked up her blade and staggered as she attempted to walk.

"Just tell me what's wrong!" Raki asked attempting to be of some assistance, Galk, Sid and Eli running up beside him. Clare raised her sword to her own neck, her muscles still spasming.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing?" cried Raki as he stepped forward with one foot, attempting to close the distance between them.

"It wasn't safe to use so much yoma power, I've sustained too much injury. she explained.

"She has reached her yoki limit." Eli continued where Clare left off. "She'll soon be a threat to everyone here."

"There's no choice," Clare picked up. "I have to do this while my human mind is still in control. I must take my own life, while I still can."

"No! Don't! You can't! Please just stop!" pleaded Raki.

Clare raised her blade above her head. "I must do this…" she said her voice becoming more and distorted.

"We'll fix it!" Raki pleaded once more.

"He's right Clare! I can help you!" Eli insisted taking a step forward.

Clare plunged her blade into the ground kneeling down and facing it, hiding her face from the others. "Stay away from me!" she shouted. "Galk now! Do it!" Glak just looked stunned as he registered her request. "Please Galk hurry…"

Galk stepped forward sword raised as he prepared to follow orders. Eli just looked from Galk to Clare. "Are you an idiot? Didn't you hear what I just said? I can help you!" he barked to Clare.

"Eli… Raki… listen to… me." She said slowly. "I am beyond saving now. The more we Claymores use yoki, the more we become yoma, this change doesn't have to happen gradually, it can happen suddenly, without any warning." She explained more for Raki's sake then anyone else's.

"No…NO!" Raki shouted.

"My body is already changing I can barely hold on as it is…" Clare continued.

Eli gritted his teeth in frustration._ "She is right, if I don't stop and help her now it may be too late."_

Raki teared up as he ran over to Clare and knelt down embracing her, Eli and Galk eyes' widened at sudden act and were surprised by it as was Clare.

"What are you doing? You'll Die!" she growled. "Stop… please Raki, you have to let go of me. I won't-" she was cut off as she began to feel the veins around her face pop and protrude even more.

"Please don't!" Raki cried into her back. "Traveling with you was the best thing that even happened. You made me so happy."

Eli standing nearby frowned as he heard this, having looked through Clare's memories he had seen that he had indeed been happy since he left his village to travel with her. Clare was also taken back by the emotional outpour as she stopped and listened

"After my family was killed, the village pushed me aside. I lost every single thing that I had." He continued through sobs. "But then you came and you found me. You let me travel with you, and for the first time I allowed myself to be happy again! More than anything, I had someone back in my life" Eli, Galk and even Sid had stopped to listen as Raki continued. "You said you weren't kind but I know that's not the truth! You were nicer to me than anyone I had known in my entire life! And that's why I need you to live and just stay with me! I don't know what I'd do without you by my side. If you're going to die… if this is it Clare… take me with you." He finished quietly. Clare's body pulsed as her yoki flowed out of her like a torrent of water, becoming visible in a radiant fountain of silver-blue light.

Galk was blown back as he staggered and knelt for support. Eli put up his arm to shield himself from the wind. _"Damn it… too late… her yoki's outta control! I have to act now!"_ Eli rushed forward to help, but then… it was quiet. All quiet. Silent.

Eli looked down at Clare and Raki as the smoke and dust cleared, Galk and Sid gazed along with him. Clare had calmed down, her body had returned to its previous state, her yoki was under control.

Clare looked down at her arms. "My yoki's under control, I didn't transform." She said in shock and disbelief.

Raki looked up at her and smiled, tearing up again. "You're still alive." With that he embraced her and began to sob, surprising Clare as well as Eli, Galk and Sid. Eli then wiped the look of shock off his face with a small smile. _"This boy…"_ he thought looking down at Raki.

"Wow, can't believe it's over." Galk stated plainly breaking the small silence.

Sid walked up beside Galk. "What do ya know? She didn't become a yoma after all." he observed. "So do ya think that's the end of it?"

"Well, one thing's for sure, that boy just saved her life." Galk replied.

Eli looked over to the pair. "Truly." he agreed.

* * *

><p>The morning sun came and all was well the yoma was slain, and the people were safe once more. However, their business was done here and Eli had to take care of one last thing as he busied himself gathering the last of his things in Arleen's room. Strapping on his gear as he turned around to face Arleen herself who was standing in the doorway.<p>

"So… you're finally back again, and just like that you're gone again." She stated flatly.

"Arleen, I-" Eli started but was cut off as Arleen put a slender finger to his lips.

"Don't." she said firmly. She then took off her finger and quickly pecked him on the lips. 'Just… don't be such a stranger. Alright?"

Eli slightly taken off guard by the peck, then smiled warmly at her. "Alright." He confirmed embracing her in a hug, which she returned. "I'm going to miss you kid."

"Yeah, whatever old man." She teased, then stepping aside as she watched him walk out on her for the second time in her life.

* * *

><p>Eli reached the bottom of the stair and saw a very strange sight indeed, Madame Zora, in the open, telling stories to little Miata.<p>

"…and then all the bandits ran away! And the prince and the princess lived happily ever after." She finished concluding her story as Miata clapped her hands together in joy.

"Huh. Never took you for the grandma-type Zora? Age making you soft?" Eli teased as Zora scowled at him. "It's been real Madame. I hope we meet again."

Zora smiled her grandmotherly smile at him "As do I Eli."

Eli then picked up Miata and put her on his back, she gripped his shoulder as before.. "Where we going?" she asked.

Eli's face fell into a frown as he answered slowly. 'We're leaving Miata."

* * *

><p>Eli's walk to the church felt slower than he imagined, he had stopped by Ivan and Stephan's place to say goodbye, they told him they'd have new gear for him whenever he got back. Walking by the cathedral he say it off to the side, the church orphanage. There were kids playing in the courtyard as he approached, an elderly nun was watching them from the stoop of the orphanage and greeted him as he stepped up to meet her.<p>

"Hello." She said in a sweet, polite voice, a ball bounce over to the stoop and hit Eli's leg as a little girl with short brown hair came over to retrieve it, only to be greeted with Eli's tall form as she struggled to look up at him.

"Wow! You're big!" the little girl exclaimed, she couldn't have been more than seven or eight years of age.

The nun shifted her attention from Eli to the girl. "Clarice! Apologize this instant!" she scolded. The girl winced at the sound of the nun.

Eli held up his hand. "It's quite alright." Eli assured picking up the ball at his feet and holding it out for her. "Here, you go."

She looked at him to the ball and back, taking the ball somewhat tentatively. "Thanks." She said quickly running off.

Eli turned his attention back to the nun. "I'm sorry about her." She apologized.

"Please, as I said, it's quite alright." Eli assured her then picked up Miata off from his back and set her down. She hid behind his leg as the nun peered down at her.

"So, I take it you aren't here to adopt." The nun deadpanned looking down at the girl.

"No, just to make a donation." Eli stated sadly. "This is Miata." Miata was still eyeing the nun as the nun turned her attention back on Eli.

"I see." The nun said taking his meaning. "Well, she's welcome here."

"Thank you. Can I have a few moments with her?" Eli asked. The nun nodded.

Eli bent down to Miata's eye level. "Well, Miata. Looks like this is it." Eli said sadly, Miata just stared at him in confusion.

"What Eli mean?" she asked now worried.

"I mean I have to leave you now." Eli said carefully trying not to upset her. It didn't work. She threw herself on him and wrapped around his neck tight, refusing to let go and began crying uncontrollably.

"No! No! No! No! No!" she cried staining Eli's shirt with her uncontrollable crying, even drawing looks from some of the other kids.

Eli took her off himself and she looked away to the ground. "Miata…look at me." Eli said softly, she shook her head violently. "Miata!" Eli said sternly drawing her attention back to his face as Eli's feature settled back into their soft positions. "You have a future here. It would only be dangerous if you stay with me longer. You could even have a real life with a real mother and father to do for you what I could never do."

"I don't want another mother and father!" she cried "I want Eli!"

Eli breathed in and let out a long sigh. "Miata…"

"No!"

"Miata, you have a future if you stay here. And I don't care if you hate me for it, but I can't let you throw it away." Eli said sternly. Miata continued sniffing, and Eli's eyes softened. "Promise me you'll do this for me."

Miata was silent, not looking in his direction.

"Miata?" he asked. "Promise me."

"Okay." She said letting go of his pants as Eli began to walk a few feet away from her. "You stay. I go. No following." Eli said softly wagging his finger at her. With that he turned to leave and walked out of sight, Miata tried to run after him but the nun caught her.

"Eli!" she called out, her tears going full steam now.

The nun calmed her down as Eli heard the sound of Miata's crying fade away as he walked on. _"Sorry, Miata this is goodbye. You'll be happier this way."_ Eli wiped his eyes and continued on down the road.

After the nun calmed her down Miata walked back to where the other kids were playing, the girl from before ran up to her. "Hi! My name's Clarice! What's yours?' she asked with a wide grin.

"Miata." She answered sadly.

Clarice dropped her smile, but then brought it up again in a flash. "Your friend going away?" she asked Miata nodded. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll see him again someday!" she exclaimed.

Miata smiled a little at this. "Yeah."

* * *

><p>Eli walked out to the main gate and was greeted by Clare, Raki, Galk, Sid, Vincent and a handful of the guards who Eli had recognized from his previous "encounters".<p>

"You're late." Clare deadpanned.

"Yeah, just had to take care of some… things." Eli finished walked next to Clare and Raki taking a place beside them.

Clare then turned her attention to Vincent. "I owe you so much Father."

"What are you talking about Clare?" Vincent asked with a warm smile. "We're the ones who should be indebted to you saving our lives."

"Yeah, good going there Clare." Eli teased, she ignored him.

"I was simply doing my duty." Clare said plainly.

"I want you to know the bishop has given his full consent to taking Raki under our wing here. We'll look after him as one of our own." Vincent said.

"Clare…" Raki said looking to her.

"Or you could stay with us. Your choice." Clare said with a genuine smile.

"Yeah kid," Eli said draping his arms over both their shoulders. "You could stay with us and be in constant danger of dying from yoma attacks, bandits and who knows what else, or stay with the church and live a safe boring life."

Raki smiled nodding. "Do you even have to ask?"

Eli smiled at him clasping his shoulder. "Good answer!" he answered letting go.

Galk held up a sword and threw it to Raki. "Here." He called. Raki caught it clumsily in his hands. "and Claymore, you take care of yourself. You too, stranger." He continued.

Eli and Clare nodded their heads in unison. One of the other guards came up to Eli. "Thank you for all you've done." He held out his hand to shake.

Eli smiled and shook his hand. "No problem, maybe I'll teach you how to actually use those weapons next time."

The guard smirked, "Heh, don't worry about that. We'll be sure to show you something when you return."

Eli returned the smirk. "Can't wait."

"Time to leave, Raki, Eli, let's go." Clare said turning around from the gate as she walking away from the city. Raki and Eli turned around and walked after Clare.

"Hey kid!" Sid called out to Raki "Just one more thing! Grown big and strong got it? Strong enough so you can help out Eli and Clare."

Raki turned around and smiled. "Yeah! You can count on it! Bye" he shouted back.

"Raki let's go!" Eli shouted to him.

"Coming!" Raki replied running up to them as they walked on.

"Hey Eli?" Raki asked.

"Yeah?"

"Can you teach me to use this?" Raki asked holding up his sword.

"Sure I'll teach you to use that thing for more than poking your eye out." Eli stated ruffling Raki's hair.

"Yeah, alright." Raki replied.

"I warn you though; I won't go easy on you." Eli warned.

"I can take it." Raki assured.

Eli smirked at him. "Good answer." He said as the group walked on to their next destination.

* * *

><p><strong>Whew! Sorry for taking so long in updating, readers who are still there but, I wanted to cover the whole Rabona arc in one go, so there. After popping out a long chapter like this though reviews would be appreciated. Remember references are abound.<strong>


	5. Ch 5: Teresa of the Feint Smile

**Chapter 5 comin' at cha'.**

**I don't own Claymore.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 5: Teresa of the Faint Smile<p>

_Years Ago…_

* * *

><p>The moon was bright and full as the smell of blood stained the air. A swish of metals and an arm covered in purple blood flew into the sky. The bystanders in the village were amazed as they watched the woman responsible do her work with incredible efficiency and flawlessness.<p>

"**Impossible!**" growled the yoma whose arm had just recently been severed. He reared on the woman as he turned to face her only to be met with a swift cut from his shoulder to his hip, as the warrior effortlessly ended the rather short battle. The yoma glared up at her barely breathing as the warrior stomped her foot down on the beast's head and ended his existence with a downward thrust and a gush of purple blood. The warrior looked down impassively at the corpse as she twisted her blade in it.

"The… yoma didn't stand a chance against her." one town member observed.

"So that's a claymore?" another asked, bewildered and in awe at her prowess as all the villagers were.

"Excuse me." A man said stepping up. "Thank you for all you've done for us. We have your fee." He said motioning to the man next to him as he held a sack full of beras.

"Keep it." The warrior said monotonously.

"Keep it?" repeated the man in a surprised tone.

"A stranger in black will arrive soon after I am gone." The warrior said monotonously as she spoke the words she had spoken hundreds of times. "Give it to him then."

"Our town sees strange travelers every day. If we were to accidentally give your fee to the wrong person, how would you know?" the man asked as he spoke up.

"I wouldn't." She replied, not turning to face the man. "But, if my associate does not receive the fee, then know this. From then on no matter how many yoma plague your village, or how desperately you beg for aid, we will not respond." She turned to face the man. "Once there was a small village that had failed to pay, they were wiped out by a horde of yoma in less than a month. You hear stories like that all the time." She finished nonchalantly as she looked around calmly at the horrified faces of the villagers.

"We'll pay claymore! We'll pay I swear it!" the man said quickly.

"Good." She replied curtly. "Then your town should have nothing to fear."

The warrior walked down the dirt road away from the village and stopped by a tree growing alongside it.

"The way you make it sound, one might think the yoma do our bidding." A raspy low voice called out.

"Do you have my assignment Orsay?" the warrior replied getting down to business, not taking her eyes off the road as Orsay appeared behind her.

"The town of Teo is two days to the west. They're expecting you." He answered.

"And anything else?" she asked almost board.

"You want to know?" Orsay asked.

"No, I don't." Teresa deadpanned.

"You have all the information that is necessary for you to complete your task. Find the yoma kill them, that is all." Orsay concluded.

Teresa saluted him. "Or course…sir." With that she turned on her heel and walked on.

"_A mixed breed soldier created by the organization. Teresa. The 182__nd__ warrior of the 77__th__ generation. She slays every yoma without ever giving way to the inhuman half of her mind. The twisted yoma features never touch her face. _Orsay thought to himself as he watched her walk off. _With unsettling ease she destroys her enemies, and always the faint smile on her lips, and so she is known as 'Teresa of the Faint Smile', the most powerful woman in the claymore ranks. _Orsay's gaze darkened as he watched her go. _"No, not the most powerful woman, the most powerful monster._

* * *

><p><em>Two days later…<em>

* * *

><p>The marketplace of Teo was buzzing as villagers went about their business. In a tea shop near the entrance to the city a man with silver spiked hair sipped calmly on tea as he looked out the window at the people passing by, his face was hidden by his cloak's hood. <em>"Let's see…"<em> Eli thought looking out. _"One."_ He pointed at a man outside next to a fruit stand. _"Two…"_ he continued pointing to the man next to him. _"Three, four, five six…"_ he thought pointing each time at a different person. _"And… seven."_ He settled his finger on a young man standing next to a little girl. _"Seven yoma in all, hardly a challenge. I could take them out myself, but I sense a warrior approaching let's see how she fares."_ Eli though as he walked out of the tea shop leaning against a nearby wall, arms crossed as he masked his yoki.

Teresa arrived at the gates as Eli sipped his cup and looked her over. She had wavy blond hair that fell down to her shoulders and beaming silver eyes. Aside from that she wore the usual warrior outfit, along with the weapon on her back that gave rise to their nicknames. Eli had met many warriors on his travels he could tell just by looking at her, she was cold and calculating, it reminded him a lot of himself in the old days, a cold-blooded killer. And powerful, very powerful, Eli would venture to say she was the current number one judging from all the yoki he could sense pinned up inside her, but judging from the way the yoki seemed so suppressed he would also say that her yoki was rarely used. _"What's her game? A warrior using no yoki at all? How peculiar."_ Eli thought.

The other townspeople near the gate also took notice. "A Claymore." An elderly man near the fruit vendor stated, as he sweatdropped. She disappeared in a flash her moves too quick to follow for the human eye, Eli observed calmly sipping his tea as the elderly man was cut down in a flash, Teresa appearing behind him as she paused.

"First one down." Teresa said to herself as Eli raised an eyebrow in curiosity. The townspeople screamed and panicked trying to get away from her as the man fell down in a pool of purple blood.

"Why the hell are you doing this?" another man asked. "You're out of your mind!"

Teresa lunged forward at the man as she thrust her blade into his chest. "That's two." She continued removing the blade from the body with an upward slash cleaving the head in two, purple blood flowing from the wounds.

"Run! The Silver-eyed witch has gone mad!" another man shouted running away from her.

Teresa ran up beside the man. "Found the third." She stated bringing her blade up and slicing off the top part of his head, more purple blood flowing.

"She- she's crazy." Another said dumbfounded with fear and awe.

Teresa disappeared and reappeared behind him. "That makes four." The man turned to look at her and split in half as his body fell to the ground spraying his share of the purple blood.

Teresa pause as two more of the townspeople changed from humans into yomas, their bodies morphing into large dark-skinned forms.

"There you are." Teresa said calmly looking at the two of them. "Of course a wiser yoma would have shed his human disguise much sooner and prepared to face me in combat. Even so," one of the yoma ran forward jumping in the air as he lunged at her. Teresa moved in a flash as she jumped up and cut the yoma in two, landing in front of the other yoma as she impaled him. "resist all you like, it will not save you from your destiny." She finished pulling her sword out splashing more of the purple liquid around.

One of the women screamed as the townspeople turned to look at the slain "people".

"The bodies…" one villager started

"They're all… " another continued, voice shaking slightly.

"They're yoma!" another finally finished completing the thoughts of the other villagers.

"You've all been so blind." Teresa started. "Groups of yoma living among your village feeding whenever it suit them. Now then…" she said looking around at each of the villagers now in a crowd on either side of her. "I felt the presence of eight yoma as I approached your town. Let's see how many I've already met. One, two, three, four, five, six. How careless of me. I've missed a couple. I can sense you both, you are here. Show me where." She stated looking over the crowd.

Eli was slightly amused as a small smirk appeared on his features. _"How careless of me as well, to be sensed from so far away. I must be on my toes around her. I had better employ "that" if I want to avoid a fight here while she takes out that last yoma."_ Eli thought as he began his technique.

"Oh, I see." Teresa said as she spotted her prey, then disappearing in a flash as she stood back to back with the young man behind a girl. "Did you think a little girl could hide you from me?" The young man's body split down the middle. "So naive." His body fell to the ground as the little girl's back and hair were covered in fresh gore standing motionless in a pool of yoma blood. Teresa looked down at the little girl and she looked back at her, then she walked away leaving the little girl standing there.

Eli watched Teresa go and grinned to himself. _"Most impressive, she must be her, the number one I've been hearing about… 'Teresa of the Faint Smile'."_ Eli then turned from the crowd as he walked off.

* * *

><p>Night had fallen the moonlight poured in from a window and Teresa was lying awake in her bed she'd rented from the inn, unable to sleep. <em>"Something's not right. I know I sensed eight yoki, and that eighth yoki was far more powerful than the others, how could it just up and disappear?"<em> Opening her eyes she spoke aloud to herself. "I'll never fall to sleep on this thing." She sat up in her bed and put on her clothes thrusting her claymore through the wood as she sat down and leaned up against it. "It's hard to believe that this is more relaxing than the bed." She said aloud to no one. "Hmph, maybe I was wrong about that yoki just this once, if it was really here I definitely would have sensed it." She assured herself as she fell asleep.

* * *

><p>The sun rose on another day as Teresa departed from the inn. Eli was also up walking out from the same teashop, cup in hand as he sipped the contents and looked over to Teresa. <em>"She might be an interesting person after all."<em>

"Lady Teresa?" one of the villagers addressed her as she turned to face the speaker, he held up a bag full of money. "We would like to offer you payment as well as our gratitude for all of your help."

"A stranger in black will come for my fee. You will give the entire sum to him" Teresa said repeating the usual claymore mantra. She felt a tug and turned to the source as the villagers looked astonished, Eli only raising his eyebrow in slight curiosity taking a pause from his tea. The same little girl from the other day was pulling on her cape.

"Hey… that girl…" one of the villagers started before Teresa grabbed her cape and pulled quickly and with force, knocking the girl to the ground as the villagers gasped, Eli remained impassive as he watched.

"Who is this child?" Teresa asked them without taking her eyes off the girl. "This girl belonged to the final yoma I destroyed didn't she? Trying to exact revenge for your father's death?" she said in a slightly mocking and bemused tone.

"No." spoke up the man from before. "She… she doesn't seem to belong to any of the townspeople, and I don't think she belonged to the yoma that you killed either, although she was traveling with it." He explained.

"I don't understand." Teresa said now slightly puzzled still watching the girl.

"Well she hasn't spoken to anyone since she arrived, but I believe somehow she knew that the man you killed was a yoma and that it was keeping her as some sort of hostage. Traveling with her from village to village until they finally arrived here in Teo." The man explained to her.

"If the girl has never spoken before how can you know all that?" Teresa questioned him.

"Well…" the man started slowly "her entire body is covered in scars and gashes, most likely from her travels with that yoma."

"Oh, so she has spent time as a yoma's plaything." Teresa said nonchalantly, looking over to the girl as she picked herself off the ground. "So you must think I'm some kind of savior then don't you? Don't misunderstand. I did not kill your yoma to save you or anyone else. I kill yoma because it is my job and my purpose; it's not to save human life." She said looking down on the girl, who then walked over and hugged her leg.

"Now what are you doing?" she said glaring down at the girl. Teresa knocked the girl away and the people winced as the hit made contact. Eli watched and slightly furrowed his brow gripping his cup harder than he meant to and sending a crack up the side with the force.

"I have not made myself clear." Teresa stated glaring at the girl. "The job that I did today does not make me my savior or your friend.' The girl got up and breathed heavily, still recovering from her breath getting knocked out of her. "What's wrong with her? Is she not right in the head?" she asked the man.

"I don't know. I think we all assumed that her strange behavior was the result of being a yoma's captive for such a long period of time. But I just can't say." he answered. The girl began to walk towards Teresa once more.

"Stop." Teresa ordered, and the girl paused. "Take one more step toward me and you will wish you had not." The girl looked down to the ground as she continued. "Surely you're deaf as well as mute."

"She gonna get herself killed." One villager whispered to another.

"Someone should do something.' The other replied.

"If you mean interfere with a Claymore then you're nuts." The other retorted.

"With that yoma of her's gone no one's going to take care of that kid now." another said.

"She might even be a yoma herself, if the witch doesn't kick her to death someone else might." another whispered.

Eli heard all the whispers and his gaze darkened as his disgust rose. _"What utter fools and cowards."_ Eli looked back to the little girl and Teresa, the girl; took another step and Teresa coiled her foot back and made a move to kick her but never made contact. There was a shattering of a ceramic cup on the ground, the contents spilling onto the street. The little girl had closed her eyes and slightly winced as she prepared for the blow but realizing it never came opened her eyes and saw a tall figure in front of her his tattered cloak and large cross-like object the only visible things from behind. Teresa also opened her eyes in slight shock her foot, which was about to make contact with the girl, had been blocked and caught with one hand by a cloaked stranger now standing in front of her. his face hidden by his hood leaving only his moth visible. Her shocked look returned to its normal state of serene calm and control as the man let go of the foot and she regained her footing. She now stood facing this new arrival on the scene that had seemingly come from nowhere and in a flash stopped her kick with surprising ease.

Teresa reached forth with her yoki towards the man but felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not even a trace of yoki, like he had never come within a hundred feet of any yoma in all his life. Yet she could tell from looking at the man she had best not underestimate him, she may not have been able to sense any yoki from him but her instincts were telling her that he was far more imposing than any human or yoma that she had previously encountered, and her instincts were never wrong.

"Who are you?" Teresa asked.

"I'm the man who just did you a favor." He replied.

"Oh, and how do you figure that?" she asked in her usual cocky bemused tone.

"Number one rule for a warrior." He replied with a smirk. "Never kill a human, on pain of death." Eli gestured behind him to the girl who was just barely standing on her feet.

"I see, and it wasn't to save that girl?" Teresa questioned him.

"Who her? Why would I do that, I don't even know her." Eli brushed off the accusation. "I'd just hate to see one of our protectors executed because of one small incident, I mean who else but you and your kind could slay the yoma? Think about it, she's a small girl, easy to cause broken bones and ruptured organs, could be trouble for you if she died of any more injuries."

"Hmph. I suppose you're right." She looked past Eli and down on the girl. "Perhaps next time you'll listen." She turned to the man with the money. "My assignment was only to destroy six yoma. Consider the seventh a parting gift."

The man slowly nodded "Okay."

"Be glad you've all been quite fortunate." Teresa said in her usual calm monotone voice. She looked over to Eli a few moments longer then turned and left the village, the crowd dispersed as the spectacle was over.

Eli watched her go as she left the archway, then turned back to the girl and kneeled down to her eye level. "Are you okay?" he asked. She shook her head. "Where does it hurt?" Eli inquired. The little girl pointed towards the archway Teresa left through. "Do you… want to follow her?" Eli asked slowly. The girl nodded. "Alright then, I'll lead you to her."

* * *

><p>It was night in the forest the moon was full and high in the sky. The little girl panted slightly catching her breath as she spotted a glow in the distance right where Eli said she'd be and walked towards it, she then walked forward and made out the form of Teresa laying up against her sword as she stared at the fire. She disappeared as the girl saw the blade hover above her shoulder looking into the blade and seeing a slightly distorted reflection of herself.<p>

"I commend you for being able to follow me for as long as you have. But I can't have you following me anymore. I've already told you once I didn't kill those yoma to rescue you. I did it because it is simply my duty." Teresa's eyes darkened as she continued. "I tolerated you in the village because that strange man who intervened had a point, but you've begun to annoy me. So if you wish, I can help you join your precious yoma."

There was a rustling in the trees as Teresa looked up then grabbed Clare and leaped to a safer distance. _"Yoma? How come I didn't sense their presence earlier?"_ she then heard a sound behind her and swung her blade behind her and stopped in front of the face of a scared man. _"Humans!"_ A hand grabbed the girl from behind and on instinct Teresa slashed in a flash, severing the arm as the man howled in pain. "Don't you dare touch her." Teresa threatened putting the girl behind her back.

The man fell to his knees and clutched his arm as the men gathered around in the clearing.

"Claymore?" one said in surprise.

"A silver-eyed witch." another confirmed.

"Bandits is it?" Teresa asked unimpressed as she looked around at the group, she set her blade in the ground. "You'll find that I have no possessions worth stealing. Now you should attend to this man's injuries. He has very little time left to live." She motioned to the man still on the ground howling in pain.

Eli had a small smile on his face as he watched from his position behind a nearby tree, he had guided the girl to Teresa like she had wanted and was now slightly pleased that it hadn't gotten the girl killed as the situation became increasingly interesting. _"So now she's shielding the girl from the bandits? How peculiar."_

"His death would create a real problem for you am I right?" a voice cut in from the center of the semicircle the bandits had surrounded her with. "Imagine my surprise at finding a claymore so deep in my forest," the voice continued as the owner stepped forward."…and such an attractive one at that." The man said eying Teresa's body as he looked her up and down.

"Boss…" one bandit turned to his leader. "this is a silver-eyed witch that we're dealing with. You had better watch your step." He warned.

Eli was slightly surprised at this. _"What do you know? A bandit with some sense."_

"I'm not concerned, this witch will do no more harm, you'll see." The leader replied confidently, the bandit looked to his leader as the man continued. "All claymores are forbidden from killing humans, accidentally or otherwise." The bandit leader raised his voice to speak to the whole group. "So don't mistake her concern for our friend. She is simply afraid of being punished for breaking their most important law. For such a crime she would be beheaded by one of her fellow witches." He made a motion as he put his hand up to one side of his throat and quickly slid his thumb through the air to the other side in one of the universal symbols of death. "Very little separates these mixed breeds from the yoma. It befits them to appear to have respect for human life, without it who's to say they're on our side at all?"

"Oh really?" one bandit said now getting ideas.

"Well why should we be afraid of such a pretty little thing?" another asked as the whole group began smirking at the suppose immunity.

Eli watched slightly annoyed with how things were going. _"Keep pushing and you might find out. Still the bandit has a point, what will you do 'Teresa of the Faint Smile'?"_

"If she were to attack any of us she'd be signing her own death warrant." Another agreed grinning at another one of his fellow bandits.

"And she doesn't have a bad body either. Sure would be a shame to waste it." Another said as the whole group began chuckling to each other and themselves. The girl backed off slightly from Teresa waiting for her to make her next move as Eli and the bandits did the same.

"Is that all you wanted?" Teresa asked almost in a tired way. "You should have asked sooner. We could have avoided the loss of limbs." Teresa snapped her dickie and grabbed part of her uniform, ripping it open for the bandits to see her bare breasts and abdomen. "Now will likely be your only chance to possess the body of a Claymore."

The bandits reeled back in disgust as Eli snickered from behind his tree and absent-mindedly touched his own bandaged stigmata. _"Guess that wasn't what they were hoping for."_

"If it pleases you, I will travel with your party until each and every one of you is satisfied." Teresa said in her calm confident voice. "Any takers?"

Some of the bandits began to ebb away in disgust; some threw their hands over their mouths, as they felt ill. "I think I'll pass." Another of the bandits said slightly queasy himself.

"Damn…" the bandit leader said also fairly disgusted by what he saw. "Let's go. Get Lig back on his feet and we'll move out."

A few of the bandit helped "Lig" to his feet. "You won't get away with this claymore." He seethed as the bandits dispersed.

When they were gone Teresa pulled her claymore from the ground and sheathed it on her back. "I'd run if I were you, now go." She ordered to the little girl. "For once, you should find a guardian that isn't a monster." Teresa walked on away from the girl. "Don't let me catch you following me again."

* * *

><p>The morning rose and the girl was still following behind Teresa by a few feet and Eli behind the both of them by a few dozen meters, still leading the girl whenever she lost sight of Teresa. Finally the girl collapsed on the ground and Teresa turned to look at her would-be stalker. "I admire your determination, but even so, everyone has their limits." Teresa said as she stepped to the edge of a cliff and jumped from rock to rock aptly making her way down the steep hill and landing safely on the ground below.<p>

The girl walked over to the edge and peered down at Teresa. "Time to find someone else to bother child, this is goodbye." She called up to her.

The girl simply took a step forward off the cliff as Teresa had done, while Eli and Teresa widened their eyes in astonishment. _"Is she crazy?" _Eli ran forward to try and catch her before she fell but it was too late, he was too far way and had reacted too slowly. Eli stopped a few feet from the edge so Teresa wouldn't see him and cursed to himself. The girl fell fast and caught a tree branch the third of the way down which snapped soon after she made contact, she then hit a rock like a rag doll and finally fell to the ground in a patch of grass, lying motionless and face-down as Teresa stared at her in disbelief, Eli peeking over the cliff side also in disbelief at the girl's actions.

Teresa regained her composure and fixed the girl with a uncaring look. "I didn't intend to leave you unconscious in a strange place, but you have left me with very little choice. What a foolish little human." She said walking away from the girl's body and out of sight as Eli watched from above. _Geez, what a bitch."_ He hopped down the cliff himself to examine the body but felt the same presence from before and hid behind a boulder.

Teresa walked back and found the girl just as she had left her, unconscious and hurt. "If the child dies those bandits could easily trace her back to me, and I would have to accept the blame. Damn, even asleep the child's a nuisance." She sneered picking up her body and walking away Eli stealthily following behind.

Teresa came upon a small pond and tossed the girl in. The girl regained consciousness after a few moments of face down underwater breathing and awake coughing up water.

"You're lucky to be alive." Teresa called down to her from a stone outcropping over the pond looking over to her. "The water seems clean enough for drinking, and hydration was as much the reason for your collapse as your little tumble back there." The girl bent over and drank deeply from the pond as Teresa continued to speak. "You're starting to smell like a corpse. The scent of yoma blood is thick on your body it's been making me gag ever since we left the village. So scrub your skin and clothes clean, I want you smelling like a flower when you're done." She ordered, the girl complied taking off her long faded red shirt leaving only her underwear as her remaining garment as she began to scrub the shirt clean.

Teresa observed the child's back it was covered with scars and gashes just as the man from before had said. _"Look at that, the villagers were so afraid of the yoma that they wouldn't even wash the girl it had been holding as a captive. They even feared the cuts the yoma left, and now she will carry the scars for the rest of her life, small reminders of where trust can lead you."_ The girl ringed out her shirt. "There's food as well. When you're finished you can have some of it." Teresa called to her.

The girl bit into the fruit ravenously as Teresa watched bemusedly. "This is what owning a pet must feel like." She said aloud. The girl then stopped. And Teresa looked down at her. "What? What do you want?" she asked. She held out the fruit in front of her offering it to Teresa. "This food is all for you. I rarely eat that much so go ahead." The girl gave a curious look. "Don't worry I'd never allow myself to go hungry just for your benefit." The girl seemed satisfied and began to eat once more. _"Well, I suppose I could do worse for a pet."_ She thought folding her hands behind her head. "Here's the plan, I can take you with me as far as the next village. It's clear that you would die on your own and I cannot be held responsible for that." The girl merely stared at her blankly. "Now get some rest for the journey tomorrow, we've got quite a long hike ahead of us."

"Damn straight we do, the next village is miles from here." A voice cut in from beside Teresa. She sat up quickly and looked over to her right; there was the cloaked man from before lying down in the same position as she was just moments ago. "Still though," he continued not deterred by her sudden notice of his presence. "If we get a head start on the day tomorrow we can make good time."

Teresa grabbed her claymore in a flash and stood over him as she pointed the tip of the blade towards Eli's neck just as he finished pronouncing his last word. "You again? What are you doing here?"

Eli opened his eyes and looked into hers. "I've always been here, I been following you around since you killed the yoma in the last town."

"So… it was you. You were the reason that she was able to follow me for so long." Teresa surmised.

"That is correct."

"Why? Who and what are you?"

"She asked how to find you, I showed her the way. Why you ask? I guess I just felt like it. As for your second question my name is Eli and I'm a man simply looking for a little excitement in his life."

Teresa poked her blade point slightly into Eli's neck and a small trickle of blood flowed forth. "Don't test me. Who sent you? Are you from the organization?"

"Formerly I suppose you could say. But right now my only allegiances are to myself."

"What is that supposed to mean? Stop speaking cryptically and another thing, what was that back in the village? No human could move that fast, most yoma probably couldn't even move that fast. What are you really?" Teresa inquired her gaze darkening as she menacingly asked her questions.

Eli smirked and in a flash disappeared. Teresa looked around then heard his voice again from behind her; he was now back-to-back with her. "If you want more answers to your various questions then I propose we have a little wager." Eli said smirking.

"Really? Now you've got me interested. What's the wager?" Teresa said now also grinning slightly.

"If I win, you might get answers to your questions and I stay with you and the girl until you and her decide to part ways, by that time I think all the interest I have in this little journey will have run its course and I will leave you be. If you win, I'll answer all your questions and depart from here never to bother you again."

"Alright, agreed. What's the game?" Teresa asked her interest aroused.

"We'll spar. First one to incapacitate the other wins." Eli said his grin widening.

"Sounds good. What are the rules?"

"Only one. No going for vital areas, head, neck and heart are off limits. Anything else goes, including any weapons."

Teresa looked over to the girl who had stopped eating and was now watching the two of them closely. "Fine, let's go to an open spot and we'll start this."

"Fine by me." Eli replied. They walked over to an open area in the woods facing each other with only a few meters separating them. The girl hid behind a tree as she watched them ready for battle. Teresa drew her claymore and Eli set his cross-like object in the ground and threw off his cloak revealing his gray shirt and trousers, he then took the bandaged object and unwrapped it revealing his own blade, it was covered with runes, was slightly longer than Teresa's claymore and had a different style guard and grip than hers.

Teresa eyed the blade then looked into the dark-eyed rims of the goggles. "What is that?"

"This is my sword, in case you couldn't tell." Eli quipped.

"Right, guess I can only get more out of you once I'm done here." Teresa retorted.

"If you can." Eli smiled as they both disappeared in a flash of speed moment of silence overtook the clearing. Then the area exploded with the quickness and strength of their blows, matching each other in quick succession as the sound of their swords coming together deafened all other sounds, enveloping the clearing in a symphony of clashing blades.

Eli was releasing his yoki at ten percent now and his eyes were glowing gold slits visible even behind his dark-glassed goggles. His speed and strength were enormous but Teresa kept pace and power blocking and returning each and every blow, not releasing even an ounce of yoki.

Eli was puzzled as they continued to exchange blows. _"Something's not right here… my yoki is being released right now. I should be faster than her right now, how is she able to keep up without using any yoki? Unless… no it couldn't be, it would be impossible; she'd have to be some kind of prodigy to be able to pull off something like that. But… how else could I explain it?" _Eli thought as he blocked and countered a swipe from Teresa.

Teresa was also in thought. _"He has impeccable skills with the sword and has strength and speed far beyond any human I've ever seen, even any warrior I've ever seen. He also had a massive amount of yoki; he's the eighth yoki I sensed from before. _Teresa blocked another of his blows. _"Still his own massive yoki reserves will be his undoing, and then maybe I can get some answers."_

Eli continued his battle with Teresa still looking for any advantage. _"Guess there's only one way to find out for sure."_ Eli suppressed his yoki and struck again this time Teresa's block and counter came a little slower.

Teresa gritted her teeth. _"Damn, he's figured out my technique."_ It was harder and harder to detect the blows as Eli kept suppressing his yoki and though the strength and speed of the blows were reduced, they also were now neigh undetectable and Teresa was now being pushed. _"Fine then, maybe I'll get a little serious."_ Teresa released her yoki and began her assault, her blows faster and stronger than before.

Eli was being backed into a corner. _"Shit, I didn't expect her to go this far.'_ Teresa then saw a gap in his defense and dismembered Eli's arm, which was holding his sword. It flipped through the air then landed on the ground a few meters away; Eli gritted his teeth as he felt the pain. Teresa then disappeared once more in a flash and twisted Eli's head around to his back a loud snapping noise accompanying it as his body fell to the ground motionless.

Teresa slightly out of breath and panting then sheathed her sword and returned her yoki to normal. _"Guess I won't be getting those answers after all, oh well doesn't matter now I suppose."_ Looking away from the body and walking back over to the girl who had watched with wide eyes the whole scene unfold. The girl then pointed behind her. "What is it?" Teresa asked, she was answered when she turned to look and caught a fist to her face knocking her back into a tree as she dropped her sword.

Teresa looked up and saw Eli standing his head still twisted around as he held an outstretched fist. He then grabbed his head with his remaining hand and turned it back around; another loud snap was heard as he reset his neck to its previous untwisted position. "Well, didn't see that coming. But then again neither did you." Eli said wiping the blood from his mouth. He walked over to his dismembered limb and promptly reattached it, testing its functionality by moving it around and clenching his fist, satisfied he then walked over and offered his hand out to her. "Why don't we just call this a draw?" Eli asked.

Teresa looked up at him then down at the ground smiling her little smile. "Fine then." She said grabbing his hand and getting up from the ground, collecting her sword as she did so.

"Tell you what, you let me stick around for awhile, and I'll answer some of the questions you have. Sound good?" Eli offered.

"Yes, that is acceptable." Teresa replied.

"Glad to hear it." Eli said grinning. "But I wish to rest now; you can ask some of your questions tomorrow."

* * *

><p>The morning arose as the girl woke to find that both Eli and Teresa had gone. She frowned but then heard a rustle in the bushes and out came Teresa, holding a wild hare by its ears. "Found you a little something for your breakfast, hungry?" She walked forward and stopped, standing in front of the girl. "I forgot how much of a pain being human can be, having to eat two or three times a day just to function." She said almost nostalgically. The girl walked forward and embraced her, burying her face in her stomach. "What's this? Stop that." Teresa ordered. The girl only buried her face further. "Silly girl, didn't you hear me say I wouldn't leave you while you were sleeping? I'm always truthful because I have no need for deception. So you can trust me to speak honestly with you. Got that?" The girl nodded her face still embracing Teresa's abdomen. Teresa chuckled, and then thought to herself. "<em>Why did that laugh come out of my mouth?"<em>

"Well, from kicking, to threatening, to protecting, to embracing. You sure have done a 180 with that girl Teresa. You getting attached to her?" A voice cut in on her thoughts.

Teresa looked towards the source and saw Eli tumble out of the brush, a few apples in hand as he grinned like a fool at her.

Teresa scowled then turned her nose up at him. "Please, it's not like that. She just won't let go for some reason."

"I'm fairly sure that the number one warrior of the organization could pry a little girl off her if she so wished." Eli countered.

The girl let go and smiled at Eli who waved at her and returned the smile with his grin. Teresa simply crossed her arms across her chest and turned towards the path. "We should go now." Teresa stated before walling off, the girl looked over to Eli who shrugged his shoulders at her before they trotted to catch up to Teresa and her fast paced strides.

* * *

><p>Some ways away a man walked slowly through the forest clutching his arms to his chest and sweating profusely and gritting his teeth as he made his way towards his destination.<p>

* * *

><p>Teresa walked in the front of the small group as the girl followed closely in her footsteps and Eli walked in long slow strides in the back. They were walking near another steep edge and Clare stepped on loose dirt as she began to fall, her arm being caught by Teresa as Eli simply smirked looking at the two of them as Teresa pulled the girl up from her untimely demise.<p>

"Watch your step, you'll get yourself killed." Teresa said flatly to her as she set her down before walking on. The girl looked on before Eli walked up next to her and offered his hand to her as she accepted and was pulled from the ground as they continued to walk behind the organization's number one.

* * *

><p>Night fell and the campfire was glistening with heat and light as the three companions were placed around it. Eli and Teresa leaned on their swords for support as the girl laid curled up in the fetal position, fast asleep.<p>

"She sleeps like the dead." Teresa observed.

"Not surprising. The pace we've been keeping is hardly fit for a small child." Eli said impassively.

"She's a very unusual girl. What remarkable endurance for one so young." Teresa continued.

"A compliment from you? How… unusual." Eli said voicing his slight surprise.

"What is it that drives her to follow me with such stubbornness and resolve?" Teresa wondered out loud. "She could have certainly chosen a more suitable companion."

"Perhaps she simply feels happy just to be with you." Eli said offering his opinion.

"Following me will only bring her grief." Teresa replied. "She has chosen poorly, a human would have provided her with a proper bed at least. I can give her nothing that she needs."

"But if you are all she has, don't you think you should try?" Eli questioned.

Teresa looked over to the crackling fire then looked over to Eli. "My questions, I want answers now." she commanded.

Eli sighed, "Fine let's get the obvious out of the way."

Teresa narrowed her eyes. "First, you are not human, are you?"

"Only as much as you are beautiful." Eli said with a slight chuckle.

Teresa ignored the comment and continued. "Second, you aren't with the organization either."

"It would be more accurate to say as far as the organization goes you are my successor, at least one of them." Eli answered.

"And just what does that mean?" Teresa inquired.

"If you are who you claim to be, then the meaning should be clear." Eli answered.

"Are you always this cryptic?"

"Only when I'm really in the mood."

"Well, knowing what I now know, I'd say you're a former warrior from the organization, easily over one and a half centuries old, probably the last unawakened male in existence, have powers that easily rival or even surpass my own as well as the other numbers above ten, so you were most likely in the top five warriors during your time and were promoted to number one when the other males awakened. I'm also guessing that once the other awakened it was deemed by the organization that you were just an eventuality and must be eliminated in a preemptive strike, obviously they failed and you escaped to become an exile, which is also why you use those goggles to hide your true eye color and the bandages to hide your 'stigmata'." Teresa surmised.

Eli grinned. "Correct, except for one detail, I was number six when I was first given my number, and as you have just said, was only promoted when my 'superiors' awakened."

"Another thing, I could sense your yoki during our 'sparring match' earlier, but before when you stopped me in the village, I sensed nothing from you, and even now I find it hard to sense anything at all from you. Why is that? If you were truly a former number one then where is all your yoki? Even if you were suppressing it I could still sense the bulk of most yoki even those being suppressed, so why can't I do that with you? And more importantly what are your goals? Why are you still around and following me? What's your game?" Teresa questioned him all at once.

Eli smiled his small smirk at her. "Now, now, if I told you everything in one sitting would you really be as interested to figure out the mystery?"

"Hmph, fine then, but you'll have to answer my questions sometime."

"That may be, but not tonight."

* * *

><p>The morning dawn had just cracked, and the fire from last night had cindered to ash. Teresa, Eli and the girl had gotten ready for the journey. "Girl, it's time to go. Are you ready?" Teresa called over to the girl who was staring off into the woods but who had turned around and ran towards them when her attention was drawn.<p>

"Hmm… we can't keep calling her 'girl'." Teresa said now noticing the lack of a proper name for their young ward.

"If only she could speak she could tell us what her real name is." Eli said putting his hand to his chin in thought and looking down on the girl.

"Aahhh….ehhhh…aaauuuu!" The girl said trying to form words in her mouth but coming out only as baby babble.

"Don't strain yourself, you aren't able to speak and I doubt you know how to write. So I'll have to come up with something myself." Teresa said to her. Eli raised an eyebrow at this as he eyed the two back and forth curiously. "Hmm… let's see. I know what your new name is… it's Clare. How does that sound?"

Eli covered his mouth with his hand as he suddenly began to suppress his sudden fit of laughter. Teresa shot a glare at him. "What's so funny?"

Eli, finished with his sudden fit of laughter, answered his voice slight shaking with joviality. "N-nothing, nothing at all it's a f-fine n-name. Hahaha!" Eli began into a second wave of laughter much to Teresa's annoyance while the girl nodded her head at Teresa.

Teresa turned her head to the girl as she attempted to speak again, still using the same baby babble as before. "Are you telling us that Clare is your name?" The girl the nodded her head and Teresa smiled. "It is? Then it's settled, from now on you're Clare."

Eli finally stopped laughing and slowed his breathing as he calmed down. "Clare was one of the twin goddesses, she was beautiful virtuous and good, and her goddess twin was named Teresa. Just like you. I just find it a bit funny is all." Eli said turning his head in Teresa's direction.

"Her parents probably wanted her to grow up with the goddesses' traits." Teresa observed. "I'm sure they loved you very much." The newly named "Clare" began to tear up at the mention of her parents. "Although your parents may no longer be with you it doesn't mean their wishes for you have to die as well. Now let's go… Clare."

The girl stood still for a moment when Eli came over and rubbed her head in a friendly manner, bending down and whispering into her ear. "Don't tell Teresa, but I'm honored to be traveling with the goddess' of legend, you look just like her, the goddess I mean." Eli then stood up and walked off with Teresa as "Clare" ran to catch up with them.

* * *

><p>It was midday and the animals of the forest made their collective noise in a symphony of sound. Eli stood looking over a hill-top as he stared down below, he then turned to Teresa and motioned he forward to see and pointed toward what he had just been observing. Teresa looked out and smiled then called over to Clare. "Come over here I want you to see this."<p>

Clare caught up and looked down at what they were just looking at a town was in sight it's brick and timber popping up over the foliage of the forest around it. "That is Rokut, we'll be there by tomorrow that is where we will go our separate ways." Clare looked down to the ground. "Now don't be like that, you'll be happier in that town then you'll ever be with me." Clare shook her head and Eli remained silent. "Please don't be worried I won't abandon you right when we get to town, we'll find someone there who will look after you, unless you…?" she said Turning her attention to Eli.

"Don't look to me for that kind of thing; you should know that she would be no better off with me then you." Eli said sternly.

"Right, well anyways," She said looking down to Clare. "I won't leave you until you are safe. So rest easy." Teresa assured. Clare just sniffed as she tried to stifle her sorrow.

* * *

><p>Night had fallen once again and Clare was once again asleep leaving the two yoma hunters to converse.<p>

"So she cried herself to sleep, what an unusual girl, all those tears over leaving me." Teresa said breaking the silence of the night. "I could never be the family she needs. "

"Perhaps not the one she needs but you are the one she wants." Eli said voicing his own observation.

"I'm sure that whatever family she ends up with in Rokut will give her a far better life than I ever could. She'll be fine she'll finally have a life she deserves." Teresa said resolutely, getting up and starting to walk away from the fire.

"Where are you going?" Eli asked.

"Don't mind me, I'll be back soon. Watch her alright?" Teresa asked.

"Fine, do as you like then." Eli answered Teresa nodded and turned to walk on.

She walked down to the lakeside not far from the camp, walking on the sands when she stopped, noticing a presence behind her. "So, what can I do for you?"

It was the bandits named Lig , the same bandit that she de-limbed from before, he was sweating profusely as he held his bloodied bandaged arm. "I'm gonna… I'm gonna…" He said slowly heaving with each breath.

"Of course I knew you were following us, but had you seen to your injury instead of stalking us this entire time, your new stump might not have gotten so infected." Teresa said looking over her shoulder at him as he heaved slow ragged breaths, drool dripping from his mouth to his chin and onto the ground. "If you've come to take your 'revenge' on me I suggest you reconsider. I am forbidden from killing humans but I can think of several other ways to get rid of you."

Lig chuckled wildly, his eyes practically bulging from his head. "I know that you can't kill me, but I didn't come here for a fight, I really came here for THIS!" he said as he pushed her down to the ground and towered over her lustfully. "I'm glad I found you! Don't worry this get-together is going to be painful and bloody!"

Teresa looked impassive her voice still steady and calm. "You'll get no pleasure from raping me. You saw my body."

"Do you really think I care?" he sneered at her and grabbed her shit and started ripping it off in pieces. "This is about your humiliation! I'll make you live with your shame like you forced me to live with this deformity!"

Teresa looked at him her face still impassive. "Go ahead then." She said resigning herself. _It's humans like this one, that I am sworn to protect, and die for._ She thought, closing her eyes waiting for it to be over.

"Such a superiors little smile you had when you butchered me, but I think I know a way to wipe it off of your pretty mouth!" he said continuing to tear her uniform. "You're so damn sure of yourself. But I'll teach you to feel like the monster you are."

_**WHACK**_

"Augh!" Lig gritted his teeth in pain as blood dripped down his face. He looked behind him where the blow had come from and he saw Clare there, panting holding a large stick in her hand out in front of her. "You little brat." He said punching Clare and knocking her down. "So you wanna fight!" he stood over her and stomped down on her relentlessly Clare gasping out in pain with each blow. "Now let's say goodnight sweetie!" he said raising his foot yet again to strike.

Lig's sword was drawn from its sheath in a flash as it was held against his chin. "What do you plan on doing with my sword claymore? You had better be careful. This is a deadly game you're playing." He smirked confidently looking behind him to Teresa whose face had darkened as her hair shrouded it. "It wouldn't be wise to break your own rule; you'd be slaughtered for sure."

"Then allow me to enlighten you about the rules you idiot." Teresa said darkly. "Weather I choose to follow a rule or break it is entirely up to me, and no one else." Lig now looked into her face which was shadowed by the lack of light except for her eyes which were glowing dangerously in the moonlight. "I could kill you where you stand, then I'd gladly accept the consequence for my actions, or you can banish from my sight." She threatened. The bandit's brave confidence and bravado had disappeared like a wisp of smoke as his smile fell. "Leave this place, the stink of your wound is making me feel sick." Lig did as he was told and ran off; Teresa tossed his sword to the ground, disgusted. "Worthless bandit scum." She then looked down to Clare and held out her hand. "Are you alright? C'mon."

Clare looked up to her and tears started forming as she got up from the ground and buried her teary eyes face in Teresa's mid-section. Teresa was slightly taken back. "Wha-? What's wrong?" she asked. Clare continued to sob before resurfacing and looking Teresa in the face. "Clare?" Teresa asked again.

"…aaahhh…tha-…hurt?" Clare said trying to form words.

Teresa was surprised as she looked down at Clare. "So you can… you can talk?"

"It looks… like it… hurts you… so much." Clare stuttered out between sobs.

Teresa then closed her eyes in understanding. "I see. You mean this scar? It does look bad, but it doesn't hurt me as much as it might seem. Don't worry about me."

"But it does hurt you! I know it does because I see it on your face all the time! Even when you're smiling I can see it's still hurting you inside!" she wailed, continuing to speak quickly through sobs. "You're eyes they look just like my eyes do, like you're scared and alone and you hurt so much you csn't stand it, but you don't want anyone to know it!" she continued the words coming out almost simultaneously as she spoke quicker and in an increasingly higher pitch as she went on. "I know, that's why…"

Teresa gasped in realization as she thought back to the day she and Clare met, when Clare hugged her. "_So I was the one she was comforting that day. She didn't cling to me because I saved her from that yoma, but because she knew that we shared the same kind of pain."_Teresa looked down to Clare as she still sobbed. _"Everything she had was taken away from her, and she could sense that I had suffered in the same way. She could feel our kinship even when I couldn't, she comforted me in a way that no one in the village would do for her, she gave me what she wanted so badly for herself, understanding and unconditional love. The same love that Clare… has never known for herself."_ Teresa fell to her knees as tears of her own started to fall and she embraced Clare. _"I kicked this tiny girl over and over, when all she wanted was to be held, she taught me something I thought I'd never learn… that even silver eyes like these can still shed tears."_ She thought as she continued to embrace Clare on the ground.

Eli had watched the whole scene unfold from when the bandit had showed up to the touching moment right before him. _"Heh… there's something even I couldn't foresee."_ He thought as he took off his goggles and looked at the scene in clarity as his eyes shined brightly in the gloom. _"To think that all it took was a little girl to bring the number one warrior to her knees, it's almost funny. Touching yes, but funny."_

* * *

><p>Rokut was rather productive for it being so high in the mountains. Teresa and Eli had decided that now that they were in town, a change in Clare's clothes was necessary, and as it so happened there was a quality tailor in town. Eli waited outside the shop as Teresa and Clare went inside. Clare looked at herself in the mirror as she gazed on the outfit she had donned. It was a simple rust-red shirt-dress with a belt that hung loosely around the waist, a perfect size for Clare.<p>

"That looks good on you." Teresa commented from her seated position her claymore leaning on the wall beside her. "It's all yours."

Clare looked to her puzzled, almost sad. "But it's too…"

"If you're concerned about the expense don't be. I have too much money and it's rarely spent on anything worthwhile." Teresa affirmed. "Now then let's go."

* * *

><p>A fountain of familiar purple blood rained down from the air as a deep wound was carved in the yoma, it fell over in shock and pain as Teresa shook the blood from her blade and sheathed it before the body hit the ground with a dull thud.<p>

"Incredible." One of Rokut's villagers said astonished.

"That yoma didn't even stand a chance." Another said.

"So that must be a Claymore." A third added.

The village chief came forward with the payment. "Our village is in your debt. I wouldn't ever have ever imagined that you would have rid us of that monster so quickly."

"It's my job, save your gratitude." Teresa said brushing off the compliment.

"Rokut is so secluded by the mountains that we were sure that no one would ever come out here to help us. So, please accept this payment and our thanks for all your assistance." He said presenting the bag of beras.

"A man dressed in black will come to retrieve my fee when I'm gone. I'm not allowed to accept the money on my own."

"Oh, whatever you say." He said retracting his outstretched arms.

"Teresa." Clare said as she ran forward from where Eli and she were standing when they watched her do her work, Eli walked a few steps forward till he was only a couple meters away. Teresa looked down to Clare then back to the chief.

"I have a favor to ask you." Teresa started, placing her hand on Clare's head and rubbing it affectionately. "This child, give her a home in your town." Some of the villagers looked to each other in slight confusion at the sudden and unusual favor, as always though Eli kept a straight face as he revealed none of his emotions watching the scene unfold.

"But… who is she? Why is she traveling with you?" the chief asked.

"Teo is where I first encountered her, and she not a yoma I assure you." Teresa said firmly. "her parents are both dead and she has no other family ties, I hope you'll grant my request and give this child a home."

"Well… I'm sure we could find someone who would be willing to take her in, after all it's the least we could do for you." the chief answered.

"You are very generous indeed, thank you." Teresa said then looked down to Clare who was unlatching the belts and latches that held the dress together, stripping almost naked in front of the street shocking most of the villagers with only her underwear as her remaining garment. "What's this?" Teresa asked her.

Clare's eyes had once again begun to tear up as she spoke. "I don't… I don't need any of this." She said motioning to the thrown clothes on the ground, Teresa had a look of shock as she looked to Clare disbelievingly, "I don't want clothes or shoes, I only want to stay with you and Eli. Let me come with you Teresa, Eli," she said turning for a moment to look back at Eli who had now a look of slight grimace as he frowned before looking back to Teresa with tears in her eyes. "Oh please, don't go away and leave me all alone again. I want to stay with you both forever! Just please, don't leave me here, please!" she said in between sobs as her voiced cracked, wiping her eyes and continuing to sob.

"Clare… you know what my duty is and why it's far too dangerous for you to come. This is the life I lead and I can't be responsible for a young girl, and being with Eli would be no less dangerous." Teresa calmly explained glancing to Eli for some help.

"Why not?" Clare asked sadly looking up.

"Because Clare you would find yourself in harm's way." Eli spoke stepping up to join Teresa by her side. "And neither of us ever wants to put your life in danger."

"Please understand." Teresa pleaded with her. "Eli and I live in a very different world from yours, stay here and live a human life." Clare's hands had fallen from her face as Teresa continued. "I'm glad we met, I won't ever forget about you."

"My feelings exactly." Eli said as he agreed with Teresa.

Clare ran forward and wrapped her arms around Teresa, still sobbing. "No don't go… please."

Teresa's eyes softened as she looked down to Clare holding her. "Listen these people can give you a good life, just go."

"Clare she's right, you have a future here, don't waste this chance." Eli said softly adding to Teresa's argument.

An elderly woman slowly came up picking the dress shirt off the ground and walked over to where Teresa and Clare were and draped it over Clare's shoulders, she turned to look at the woman. "It simply won't do for a pretty young girl like yourself to be walking around town without some proper clothes on now will it? Come and we'll find you something nice to wear." she said.

* * *

><p>At the bridge leading out of town Eli and Teresa were prepare to leave, they stood on the bridge leading out of Rokut as they looked back to Clare, the woman from before and the chief.<p>

"Our thanks to you, for everything." Teresa said to the chief.

"She'll be safe here and we promise to look after her as if she were one of our very own." Assured the chief putting a hand on Clare's shoulder. Clare sniffed up a sob trying to be brave for them.

Teresa and Eli walked away. _"Sorry, I wish I could take you with me, but you'll find a childhood among your own kind that I never could have provided. Live as a human; grow as a human, die a human death. This is the greatest gift I could give to you so use it well. Farewell Clare."_ Teresa thought as she and Eli walked away.

Eli looked back to Clare for a moment; he saw her eyes were full of sorrow at their departure. _"Goodbye Clare, it was interesting, I hope we meet again someday."_ Eli then turned back and followed Teresa's lead.

* * *

><p>The day had grown to mid-afternoon as Eli and Teresa climbed a mountain path. "So how long are you going to follow me?" Teresa asked.<p>

"Guess I'll leave when we get to the next village, somehow things around you have suddenly gotten a lot less interesting." Eli replied.

Teresa scoffed then looked down at the village from the mountain's ledge. _"I hope she's happy."_ She thought, she then noticed a cloud of dust had appeared above the tree line from the forest next to the village and it was headed straight for it. She looked close and gasped, the dust cloud was actually the group of bandits from before and they were riding full-speed towards Rokut. "Oh, no…" Teresa said the words escaping her mouth before she realized she said them.

"What? What is it?" Eli asked coming over to the edge then looking down on the dust cloud himself. "Hey isn't that…?" he started to ask to Teresa, but she was not there, she was running down the cliff-face to the ground. "Hey! Teresa! Wait!" Eli shouted to her before running after her.

Teresa hit the ground with a deafening crash as dust and dirt flew up from her impact crater. She wasn't deterred in the least though as she began to run full-speed back towards the town, Eli following her movements although somewhat slower than she. _"What was I thinking?"_ Teresa thought as she continued to run, _"I should have known when I ran into bandits so deep in the woods, they've been after that town from the start. Tucked away in the mountains no one would ever know if they were under an attack. What with the yoma living somewhere inside the town, the thieves weren't able to make their move. That yoma was the only thing keeping them at bay, and then I interfered and destroyed it!"_

Eli was keeping up but just barely, Teresa was running like she had been possessed. _"I've got a bad feeling about this."_ He thought as he tried to catch up to her.

* * *

><p>Teresa made it to Rokut and crossed the bridge only to be met with burning buildings and the smell of death clouding the air. The screams of survivors could still be heard in the distance, getting fainter and fainter as their owner's lives were extinguished. The bodies of the denizens were scattered and lying in heaps on the streets, their life seeping out of them as their tormentors left them to die. "I'm too late. Clare!" she called out.<p>

* * *

><p>Eli arrived a few minutes later, slightly out of breath as he stopped half-way across the bridge, looking up to see the smoldering remains of Rokut reflected in his lenses. <em>"Damn it! Damn it all to hell!"<em> he cursed before looking to a comparatively undamaged building and jumping up to the rooftop as he watched over the shadowy form of Teresa.

* * *

><p>"Kill all of the men! And take the women!" the bandits' leader yelled to his underlings from horseback, as they complied, going about slaughtering the men and capturing the women. "With that yoma dead and gone we can do as we please without interference from anyone!" he continued.<p>

The bandits then ran into some of the less damaged buildings and took all the valuables they could hold running out with arms full of stolen goods. "We'll be back for the rest later." One of them shouted over his shoulder.

One of the few surviving men from the village grabbed a two-pronged spear and ran out towards the bandit's leader. "Damn you bastards, I'll kill you!" he shouted charging. The leader smirked before drawing his sword and in what looked like a flash looped off the spear-head from the pole. "How could he…? How could he reach me from that far away?" the man shouted before a line of crimson blood spurted from his body as he keeled over dead.

"You got to witness my falcon sword." The leader boasted to the now-dead man. "It's an honor to be killed with this blade."

Clare was running through the street alleys scared out of her mind. Things had gotten so bad, so fast and with Teresa and Eli gone, she was scared this might be it for her. She stopped to catch her breath, leaning up against a wall when the familiar form of Lig appeared, half-crazy with disease. "Look what I found." He said softly with an evil, half-crazy grin. Clare looked up horrified as she backed away slowly. "Such a young scent…" he continued as he shuffled towards her slowly.

"Boys look who we have here!" the leader shouted to the others as Teresa stepped forward, Eli still watching the whole scene from the rooftops his face in a grimace. "This is quite the coincidence isn't it? Now that that yoma has been destroyed it looks like you're not needed, and since claymores know better than to get involved in human affairs, what we're doing here should be of no concern to you. So what is it that brings you before us claymore? Sightseeing? It's not like you can do anything about our fun here. Think we deserve a spanking?" The others gathered around and chuckled as they thought themselves safe and scott-free from their misdeeds after all, they were untouchable to a claymore what do they have to be afraid of?

Eli was still watching the state-of-affairs and was not amused. _"Easy Teresa, I know they deserve it but what's done is done, let's leave before you do something you really regret."_

Teresa looked around at all the bandits chuckling at their so-called immunity; she then spotted a bandit in the back dragging someone by their collar. It was Clare. _"Clare…"_ she thought he head fining with concern for her young traveling companion.

The one-armed bandit turned around to look at her, the half-craziness still showing clearly in his features. "Hey so nice to see you… Did you forget something the last time you were here? Finders keepers. But don't worry I promise to take real good care of her; I mean we're already such good friends aren't we? My new pet…" he said slowly dragging the words out as drool dripped from the corners of his mouth, Teresa's face was impassive but her eyes shown with irascible rage as he continued on, Eli's feeling were mutual but he kept to the shadows of the rooftops as he gazed down, trying to keep from over exposing himself to anyone else watching but more than willing to step in and silence them all should the situation call for it. "I love watching the veins in her neck when she's screaming; she kept calling 'Teresa! Eli! Teresa'! " he said. Teresa snapped and disappeared in a flash, appearing behind Lig now missing his other arm as the blood dripped from the appendage still gripping Clare's collar. Lig looked to his new stub as it squirted blood, his right appendage dropping from Clare's person. "Ah…" he said "You hurt me witch… now how am I going to caress your filthy body? I'm tired." he said before his body split from the top of his head in an angular cut to under his right arm as he split in a flash of red blood. The other bandits gasping at the sight as Teresa's eyes went dark; Eli, still watching, didn't move his face now completely expressionless.

"Damn you, you rotten bastards…" she seethed bringing her blade up to her face. "You are worse than the yoma and you all deserve to die for what you've done! There will be no survivors! Each of you dies tonight!" she stated, the bandits each took a step back in fear.

Laughter rang out through the smoldering town as the leader wheeled on her with confidence. "So she's finally lost it! They'll be coming for your head now when word gets out you killed a human!" he said leaping from his seat on his horse. "You'll be slaughtering us? That could be but you shouldn't underestimate my friends and me, you aren't the only one who can handle a weapon!" he said unsheathing his blade. "I don't care that you're a claymore, I wouldn't give a damn if you were a full blooded yoma I'm still going to take off your head!" he shouted swinging his blade down at Teresa an almost invisible line of metal coming down on her head as she easily blocked it, still holding the unconscious Clare in her other hand. The leader gasped as his blade returned to its normal state. "You're the only one who's ever deflected my first attack, which gives me a new move that I've been working on, see how well you do with this!" he said his blade disconnecting as parts of the blade broke into smaller pieces staying connected by a thin line of metal, revealing a metal whip-like sword. He struck the ground where Teresa had been as she dodged with blinding speed. The leader whipped back his sword as he twirled it on either side of his body, changing from one side to the next every few moments, the blade moving with speed and deadliness. "This is what my falcon sword is capable of, but you can barely see it can you? Where's that pretty smile of yours now are you realizing just how outmatched you are in this fight? You can't fight what you can't see half-breed! Do your worst if you even think you can get close to me, but I know that you kind is not made of steel! So now what does the big bad claymore want to do with me?" he taunted Teresa was unimpressed as she watched him. Eli still watching the fight simply scoffed. _"What an idiot…"_

Teresa moved with speed and precision as she now stood behind the bandit's leader "What the-" he said before coughing up blood and his body splitting in two as he fell to the ground.

"She… she murdered the boss!' one of the bandits shouted. Teresa's eyes were now focused as all her fury came to its peak.

"What the hell did we think we were doing taking on a monster like her? I haven't seen anybody move as fast as that in my entire life! RUN!" another shouted sprinting to his horse as the other bandits all split in different direction trying to get as much space between themselves and her as possible.

"She's a monster she'll kill us all!" another shouted as he whipped the reins of his horse and ran off in the direction the others were leaving out of town.

Teresa eyed them evilly as she gazed her targets and in a flash she was gone.

* * *

><p>Clare woke up on the ground as night began to come, she looked up into the concerned eyes of Teresa who looked down on her with gratitude at her good health. "Clare, wake up. You're safe." She assured.<p>

Clare looked to her and smiled. "Thank you." She said softly. The ground around them was bloodied with the now rotting carcasses of bandits as the smell of death, decay and burning filled the air.

Orsay looked down from a rooftop at Teresa and Clare, his face blank. "I sensed that something like this might happen and it appears that the day has arrived at last, the rules allow for no exceptions, even our finest are not exempt from the consequences of taking human life. I'm sorry that's it come to this 'Teresa of the Faint Smile'."

Eli hidden in the shadows of another rooftop looked over to Orsay and then down to Teresa. _"It seems we have come to an impasse, what will you do now I wonder, Teresa?"_

* * *

><p>It was a cloudy day as Teresa awaited her execution squad, warriors all aligned around her in a circle as Orsay began to recite her "crimes". "You have betrayed the organization… Teresa."<p>

Teresa closed her eyes. "Yes, yes, get on with it."

Clare was held by Orsay as she wept and cried."You can't do this she saved my life!"

Eli was looking down from the top of one of the rock plateaus that covered the land where the execution was being held. _"Which path will you chose now Teresa? Executed like a rabbid dog? Or perhaps something else...'_

"This is not the fate I envisioned." Teresa admitted. "But I am willing to do what must be done here please would you just spare me the hypocrisy? I disobeyed and human lives were lost due to my lack of control."

"Teresa! Teresa!" Clare pleaded, her eyes overflowing with sorrow.

"Just tell me one thing first," she said turning around to face Clare. "As for her, who will provide for the girl?"

"that is no longer your concern." Orsay stated flatly. "She'll be dealt with by the organization from this point on."

"I see, thank you." She said.

"Why won't you listen? Don't you hurt her! STOP!" Clare cried struggling against Osay's grip to no avail.

The warriors surrounding Teresa raised their claymores as they prepare for their duty.

Teresa closed her eyes. "I can't Clare… goodbye." Teresa said softly.

"TERESA!" Clare cried out one final time, the warriors charged and Eli too had closed his eyes.

There was a sudden stop as the warriors all paused Teresa was unharmed but her claymore was drawn as a thin trickle of blood fell from the blade point and hit the ground. The warriors became fountains of blood as they fell to the ground, rendered immobile. Orsay and Clare gasped astonished, while Eli looked down from his view and smirked. _"Not a bad choice at all."_

"The wounds aren't deep your yoki powers will be more than enough to close them." Teresa said turning around looking over her shoulder at them. "Sorry but, I'm not quite ready to die."

Orsay let go as Clare ran forward and embraced Teresa."Teresa! You're alive! Never leave me! Please, please!" she said sobbing again.

"There, there." Teresa stated flatly. "Stop your crying."

Orsay grimaced. 'What have you done now Teresa?"

"Only what she's always done, kept herself alive." Eli said appearing from his hidding spot.

"And just who are you?" Orsay demanded.

"Me? I'm just the traveling companion." Eli replied.

"But it's all different now." Teresa said explaining herself. "This little girl has given me a greater purpose in my life than I have ever known." Teresa grasped Clare's hand and walked past him.

"You will regret this, all three of you." Orsay warned.

"We'll see. But not right now." She replied walking towards the rising sun, Clare in hand and Eli keeping pace with Teresa.

Orsay watched the three walk off as his face turned into a scowl."This new development is troubling indeed. For 'Teresa of the Faint Smile' the greatest living warrior to desert us…" started another organization member coming up behind Orsay.

"It is a problem to be handled just like any other." Orsay said watching as the three faded in the distance. "The organization need not worry, please bring numbers two through five to me immediately. Teresa must be reckoned with."

* * *

><p><strong>As always read and review. Also, due to the almost end of the Claymore series and the release of the Claymore databooks, I will be modifyingediting my story/chapters to better conform with the current information now known, so you might want to re-read some of my earlier stuff later on, or just keep reading and figure out what I changed along the way.**


	6. Ch 6: Birth of a Monster

**Chapter 6 for your reading pleasure.**

**I don't own Claymore**

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: Birth of a Monster<p>

_One week later..._

* * *

><p>It was a cloudy day as Eli, Teresa, and Clare walked along the barren ground of the Earth, sparse patches of grass grew up in places spread far from each other like yellow-green islands in a sea of gray-black stone and dirt. They reached a hill overlooking a village in the distance and the group stopped for a moment.<p>

"Do you need a rest?" Teresa asked Clare looking down to the little girl holding to her hand tightly.

"No, I'm fine Teresa." Clare replied smiling up at her.

"We should be at the next village sometime tomorrow. Maybe we can relax for a little while." Eli stated optimistically walking up behind them.

Clare looked to Eli then up at the sky. The sun was shining beautifully.

* * *

><p><em>Elsewhere…<em>

* * *

><p>A yoma screeched out in agony as it fell over dead, joining the countless numbers of its brethren on the ground all sharing similar injuries and death.<p>

"What the hell is up with this town?" a feminine voice complained.

"Well… I suppose you could call it a yoma's nest. It seems like any other village that was attacked by a large horde of yoma" Another voice explained to the first. "They have their fun feasting on the townspeople here then pose as their human victims, they've been feeding regularly ever since."

Yoma started pouring in from all directions to the center of town where two warriors stood next to one another facing the oncoming horde. One had short, razor-cut, pale blond hair, emphasizing her boyishness with an outspoken, irascible attitude to boot. The other had chin-length, wavy, pale blond hair worn loose and parted in the middle and a haughty yet elegant attitude. They both wore regulation warrior outfits and had their claymores drawn.

"So… how many have you taken down so far today Sophia?" The short-haired warrior asked, her voice being the first from before.

"Let's see…" Sophia replied thinking for a moment; her's being the second voice, "I believe the last one makes seven, Noel."

"What? That's not right, there are thirteen dead and seven are mine, so don't lie, you only got six of them and you know it." Noel said as the yoma began to surround them.

"Ah, but I think you'll find that your math is incorrect Noel. Seven of those yoma belong to me." Sophia countered. "Well, if you improve your math skills you'll finally rise above your rank as number four, don't cha think?"

Noel scoffed as the yoma finished surrounding them "Damn it! You had better watch your mouth!" she yelled. "Besides you're number four and I'm number three and don't you forget it!"

The yoma pounced as the two warriors moved in grey blurs as they each cut the yoma down one after another, the battle raged on until Sophia killed the last of the yoma, slicing through a pillar and the yoma behind it as they both fell over with a thud.

"Well all force and no style, just like usual, huh?" Noel sneered at Sophia as she came up behind her, her claymore resting on her shoulder.

"You seem to be handling all the unnecessary acrobatics quite well on your own." Sophia countered.

Noel scowled. "Bitch if you're picking fights I'm ready."

"If memory serves you started all of this, correct?" Sophia calmly replied returning Noel's scowl with a taunting smirk.

"Well let's get to it then." Noel said lowering her blade into an aggressive stance. "Why don't we settle this dispute now, we'll see who's the better fighter."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Sophia taunted once more.

"You two knock it off!" A voice barked.

Noel and Sophia turned to the source of the voice and saw another one of their comrades walking slowly towards them, she had the regulation uniform of the warriors with long, pale hair and pointed ears her face spoke of her calm, calculating personality.

Two yoma jumped out on either side of the newly arrived warrior. Just as they were about to sink their claws into her they exploded in a rain of purple blood, bits and pieces of yoma flesh dropped to the ground in small chunks, all the while the warrior did not break her stride nor turn her attention from Noel and Sophia.

"We came here to kill yoma, not each other. You can bicker all you like when that's finished. Am I clear?" she asked berating the two for their quarrel.

"So good to see you again Irene." Sophia greeted bowing her head slightly.

"Well I guess they don't call you 'Quick-sword Irene' for nothing huh?" Noel quipped. "I never even saw the blade move."

"I find it equally impressive that even after slaying a yoma at such close proximity, there's not a drop of blood on her." Sophia added. "Her rank as number two is unquestioned."

"So why have they gone to the trouble of bringing all of us together?" Noel said voicing the question on both her's and Sophia's mind. "Sounds like we're here for something more important than yoma."

"I'm inclined to agree with you. Any one of us could have easily handled the yoma presence here. It would appear that there is something more important that warrants this little gathering, care to enlighten us, fearless leader?" Sophia asked the superior warrior.

"We have a new assignment; eliminate Teresa, the organization's number one." Irene stated plainly as both Sophia and Noel shot their heads up in surprise at the new information.

"Teresa?" Noel said slowly before the information hit her. "Wait! As in Teresa of the Faint Smile?"

"And why would we want to do that?" Sophia questioned just as surprised as Noel but hiding it much better.

"She's admitted to murdering a group of humans." Irene explained. "And when she was to receive her punishment she wounded every warrior that was called to her execution."

"You've got to be kidding me. Teresa's easily the finest warrior we have. Why would she betray us instead of accepting her punishment like she should?" Noel inquired.

"I have no idea, but the fact that she didn't is the reason that numbers two through five have been called together. The organization has ordered the four of us to make sure Teresa doesn't escape her punishment." Irene concluded.

"Taking down Teresa won't be easy, so I hope this number five knows her way around a battlefield." Noel said voicing her uneasiness with the task before her. "So then, remind me who this number five is again, I have a hard time keeping track of anyone outside of the top three."

Sophia scoffed. "You really are as dumb as you look aren't you? It's Elda."

"Not anymore." Irene corrected drawing looks from both Sophia and Noel once more. "Just like I'm no longer number two." Noel and Sophia widened their eyes at the new information. "I've recently been demoted to number three, which moves the two of you down to numbers four and five respectively."

Noel scowled. "What the hell is that all about?"

"But then who-?" Sophia began to ask.

Irene cut her off answering her question on both of their minds. "Number two recently received her emblem, she was given the second position ranking after only months in the field."

"A freaking novice?" Noel shrieked, her voice filled with outrage and disbelief. "What makes them think they can promote some half-trained rookie number two ahead of me? This is ridiculous!" she finished pounding the wall she was leaning against moments ago, creating cracks in the stone.

"If the title is what you want I'm sure she'll allow you to fight her for it." Irene deadpanned. "Having seen her in action it's not an attempt I plan to make myself."

Noel was about to object once more but a slight yelp from an ally caught the groups attention. The source of the yelp came from a girl with short, spiked, parted hair, her appearance and personality spoke of innocence and naiveté. She was currently face down on the ground with her claymore inches from her hand.

"O-okay… that hurt a little bit." She said aloud as she drew herself up, now kneeling on the ground.

"What does this clumsy little half-wit think she's doing here?" Noel said a little annoyed at the new arrival.

"That's her. Please allow me to introduce our newly appointed superior; Priscilla." Irene said introducing the warrior still on her knees now noticing she wasn't alone.

Noel and Sophia shot their heads up looking from Irene to Priscilla and back.

"You're kidding me!" Noel yelled at Irene infuriated once more. "It can't actually be this little brat! Have you and the organization completely lost your damn minds?"

"This is the new number two." Irene said calmly not paying the least bit of attention to Noel's outbursts. "If you are not satisfied please feel free to put her to the test."

"A puny snot like her is barely even worth the trouble." Noel glowed looking to Priscilla. "But is that's what it's gonna take…" she said drawing her claymore. "Get up you little bitch! Let's figure out who really deserves this position right here and now!" she finished towering over Priscilla.

Priscilla looked up to Noel then began crying bowing her head over and over as the tears ran down her face. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please forgive me for being late to the meeting, I had more trouble with my last yoma than I expected!"

Noel lowered her weapon slightly her face and rage dropping some at the actions and words of her supposed "superior". "What are you talking about? I'm trying to fight you for your position and you keep rambling on about being held up because of some stupid assignment!" Noel then noticed a trickle of blood coming from the ally Priscilla had just came from and turned to look. Countless yoma bodies lined the pavement and walls, their collective blood seeping into the cracks and crevices of the concrete and brick.

Noel looked shocked into the alleyway. "I-I don't… believe what I'm seeing." She said slowly blinking making sure her eyes were correct.

Sophia came over and went through the same motions Noel just finished. "Oh my… if she was fighting yoma so close to us we should have been able to sense her presence."

"She can fight the strongest opponents without releasing her yoki. The method used by Teresa of the Faint Smile, and her hatred for yoma is unlike any I've ever seen." Irene explained as Sophia and Noel continued to stare exasperated at their new superior. "If we are to go up against Teresa, which I wouldn't choose to do in a group of any size, this girl is our only chance at success. Without her, Teresa will surely slaughter us all. The child's potential is not to be underestimated, in time this one will pass even Teresa." Irene finished as Priscilla stood to full height and turned to her new underlings.

* * *

><p>"Once I reveal what I am, we won't have any peace in this town." Teresa spoke to Clare and Eli who were all cloaked with deep hoods to hide their faces.<p>

"And that means another night of camping instead of a warm bed to sleep in." Eli groaned. "Is that okay with you?" he asked Clare who looked to him then Teresa and nodded smiling at them.

"Then here we go." Teresa finished tossing her cloak off as the attention of the townspeople drew to her, Eli put his hand of Clare's shoulder ready to defend her if necessary.

"it's a Claymore." One of the villagers voiced.

"What's a Claymore doing here?" another asked.

Teresa sighed. "How frustrating. I thought we might have one relaxing night before we moved on. But I should have known so let's make this quick shall we?" she announced to the yoma in the Town's square who growled at her in response holding the limp form of a boy in its clutches.

"Please do something to save that boy!" one of the villagers pleaded.

"_Typical, we're ostracized everywhere we go but who's the first person they come crying to __when the yoma __show up__?"_ Eli thought to himself observing the people around him as he watched over Clare while Teresa did her business.

"You yoma can be such a nuisance." Teresa sighed, the yoma dropped the boy and charged her as Teresa drew her sword across her body and quickly decapitated the yoma its head falling to the ground as the townspeople watched speechless."There maybe now we can have a little peace and quiet."

Teresa sheathed her claymore and saw with some surprise that the townspeople were cheering; people were coming out of their homes and jumping with joy. _"What is all this?" _Teresa looked to Eli for what he thought of the situation, he just shrugged his shoulders at her, unsure himself.

"Our deepest thanks for what you've done." said a portly man as he walked up to Teresa gaining her attention. "For what it's worth our village will remain forever be in your debt. Please let us take up a collection for your reward."

Eli just stared wide-eyed at the state of affairs in mild disbelief. _"I'm liking this place better and better."_

"You're too kind." Teresa voiced still slightly reeling for the small shock. "A man in black will come for my fee and- no." she began to recite the usual mantra but then remembered the circumstances.

"What?" the portly man inquired.

"Nevermind." Teresa said dismissing his question, then looking over to the boy she had just saved, he was surrounded by his parents as well as some other villagers to confirm his safety.

"It's okay son, you're safe now." The father of the boy cooed comforting him and holding him tightly.

"Dad? Dad!" The boy sobbed crying into his father's shoulder.

"What I did was really out of habit and nothing more you need not thank me."

"But we'd be so grateful for the chance to-" the man continued before being cut off by Clare running up to Teresa and Eli walking close behind.

"Teresa!" Clare said happily clinging to Teresa's leg.

"Don't mind her, she's just too proud to accept gifts." Eli said addressing the man and draping his arm over Teresa's shoulder as she raised an eyebrow at him. "If you do really insist though you could arrange for a room where we three could stay for the night, along with some of your best ale if you don't mind. We've had a full day you see and could really use the rest."

Teresa looked from Eli to Clare who smiled as Teresa put her hand on her head.

* * *

><p>Clare giggled as the three made themselves comfortable in their newly acquired room, it was a plain yet elegant room with a fireplace and potted plants and paintings dotted the room. It also had a wardrobe and three beds.<p>

"Are you still giggling you silly girl?' Teresa asked.

"I can't help it. The look on your face when everyone started cheering and clapping. It's the first time I've ever seen you look surprised." Clare replied.

"It certainly isn't the response warriors usually get that's for sure." Eli added as he took a drink from his jug laying back relaxing on one bed while Clare and Teresa sat on another.

"I've never been so openly appreciated before, that's all. But I have to admit it was a nice experience." Teresa replied thinking about it again. "Saving a village without charging a fee and for all of them to be so welcoming to us."

"Phah, it's certainly never happened to me that's for sure." Eli grumbled.

"Teresa? Can I… sleep with you tonight?" Clare asked.

Teresa raised a brow as Eli did the same. "Hmm? With your own perfectly good bed to sleep in? There's no need for us to squeeze on to-" she began to say but Clare was already asleep.

"Fast asleep before she even put her head down. Rest well, we'll stay right here in this town at least for a little while" she whispered picking Clare up and tucking her into her own bed.

Eli smiled a little at the sight of Teresa being so motherly. _"She sure has changed… and all due to one person, one little girl. I guess that really is all it takes.__"_ He thought before his expression dropped and he sat up suddenly putting his ale on the floor as Teresa, noticing Eli's sudden action, looked to him for explanation.

"What is it? Teresa asked.

"I sense three… no four strong yoki heading this way from afar." Eli said closing his eyes to concentrate.

"How long till they're here?" Teresa inquired.

"I'd say they'll be here by late morning." Eli finished opening his eyes. "Single digits all of them and one much more powerful than the other three."

"How powerful?"

"Very. But I might be wrong, it's hard to sense, her yoki's so… unusual I'm not sure how to describe it."

"Must be my new execution squad." Teresa concluded.

"What do you want to do? Should we run?" Eli suggested.

"No, if they found us once they'll find us again, running would be pointless."

"As you wish." Eli sighed walking over to the window before sighing again and turning to face her. "Teresa it is time."

Teresa gave a small look of confusion. "Time for what exactly?"

"It's time I tell you the truth, about the yoma, awakened beings, the abyssal ones, the organization, the reason you couldn't sense my yoki before, my goals, the true nature of yoki, even the truth about this entire continent… and beyond. It's time you knew about… everything." Eli said grimly.

"What? Now?" She asked surprised by the sudden declaration. "Is this really the most appropriate time?"

"Teresa I don't know what might happen tomorrow now might be the only time. I know I should have told you some of this earlier and only I'm to blame for that. But if something should happen to me and only you and Clare are left, then you two must do what I've spent most of my life attempting to accomplish. I'd trust you with my life, will you trust me and everything I'm about to tell you now?"

Teresa nodded and Eli began telling Teresa everything he knew to be true and answering all her questions. The conversation wore on as afternoon turned to night and night into morning.

* * *

><p>It was the mid-late morning as Irene, Noel, and Sophia entered the village. Teresa had just finished hearing the last of Eli's words and was processing them in a state of disbelief and confirmed suspicion, she was about to ask Eli if there was anything else when the three finally came into her sensing range.<p>

"They're coming." Teresa said

Eli nodded "Do you want me to-?"

"No, I can handle this on my own; just promise to protect Clare at all costs."

Eli looked from Teresa to the sleeping form of Clare and looked back and nodded to her.

Teresa drew close to Eli's face and whispered into his ear "Thank you for everything… my friend." With that she kissed him on the cheek as Eli touched his face where she had just been, then nodded once more and went to stand beside Clare, ready to jump into harm's way at any moment. Teresa pulled up a chair and waited for the fight to break out.

Irene, Noel and Sophia stopped in front of the inn and looked up to the top window.

"Is this it?" Noel asked.

"It must be." Irene affirmed

"Well then, Teresa sure knows how to hide with some class." Noel remarked.

"Let's go." Irene said opening the door of the inn.

The innkeeper raised his head at the unusual company as Irene walked past him and up the stairs.

"Uh… Excuse me?" he asked but Irene ignored him as she continued walking.

Sophia walked to the desk and dropped a load of beras on his desk. "But-but this is to much." He said looking at the sack of money.

"Not really." Sophia replied drawing her claymore. "That should just about cover all the damages to your inn."

The innkeeper looked confused "The damages…?"

Teresa smiled and looked to the doorway as Irene appeared. "Hello, you haven't changed a bit my old friend. We have so much catching up to do."

"I've come here to take your head Teresa." Irene said in a monotone.

"And do you think you can, Irene?" Teresa lightly taunted.

Eli looked to Irene then down to the floor below Teresa then over to the floor near the window. _"One… two… three… where's the fourth?"_ he wondered.

The doorway beside Irene exploded as a long deep gash appeared on the wall. Then more started to appear as long gashes seemed to creep out from Irene's location. Eli watched her and narrowed his eyes. _"So that's her quick-sword technique huh 'Quick-sword Irene'? I have to admit it's not half-bad, I can barely see the blade. Still, it's not gonna help against Teresa's technique."_

Teresa stood up. "If you must play with your 'Quick-sword' be mindful of those two over there."

"How very disappointing, appealing to emotion won't save you." Irene deadpanned as she moved to attack and was blocked easily by Teresa who merely smiled her faint smile while Irene stared in disbelief.

"Don't stop now." Teresa mocked "That fancy sword of yours doesn't work unless it's moving."

Irene quickly recovered as Teresa and Irene started trading high-speed blows. "Well you're definitely better than you used to be there's no doubt about that." Teresa noted.

Clare, awoken by the battle, sat up in her bed and stared at the high-speed swordplay in awe and confusion.

Sophia on the first floor stared into the ceiling. "Now let's see." She said looking for the right spot.

The innkeeper raised his brow at Sophia's unusual behavior. "Uh… can I help you find something?"

Sophia then stood still looking up. "I think it should be right about… here!" she yelled bursting through the ceiling with her claymore coming right underneath Teresa who dodged with a backwards jump.

"Teresa!" Clare called out in concern.

"Don't move! Stay with Eli!" Teresa ordered before feeling a presence behind her just as Noel burst through the wall and Eli, grabbing Clare, and Teresa jumped out of the newly made hole. The townspeople looked up to see the commotion.

"Damn it…" Noel cursed seeing her blow missed.

Irene looked down from the opening at Teresa then moved her eyes to Eli who had just landed and was setting Clare down. _"It's no surprise that didn't work, but what kind of human jumps down from so high, and unscathed? Who is that cloaked man?"_

"My, my, my, how quickly alliances between us warriors change." Teresa quipped, she then noticed a warrior standing behind her a fourth warrior. _This must be the fourth but… why can't I sense anything from her? She can't possibly be using the same technique Eli uses."_

Eli who landed a dozen or so yards from Teresa now stood with his hood drawn and Clare trying to get a look from behind Eli's leg. _"Where is this girl's yoki?"_

"We have never met Teresa." Priscilla stated "I am Priscilla and the Organization has given me my emblem and raised me to the ranking of number two."

"Did you say number two?" Teresa questioned.

Eli looked at the new arrival. _"Number two? Priscilla? I've never heard of her, she must be a new recruit. But to have risen to the ranking of number two so quickly… wait, this must have been the fourth power I was sensing, it was massive! Much bigger than those three's yoki."_ Eli thought looking up at the ruined inn before turning his attention back to Priscilla. _"This girl… she might be more than meets the eye."_

"I hope you don't consider my presence disrespectful, but I've been sent to collect your head." Priscilla continued.

"Ugh, what an idiot." Noel mocked.

"I'm confused." Sophia said aloud. "It was my understanding that we were to smoke her out of hiding and then cut her down from behind. But our new friend here wants us to play fair." She mused. "Does she actually think she can win against the number one, against Teresa?"

Clare was about to run forward to join Teresa but Eli held her back. "Let go!" Clare ordered.

"Clare, this isn't a fight you can help Teresa with. She made me promise to protect you and I won't break that promise, remember both she and I swore to protect you so we'll all come out of this okay, alright?"

Clare nodded stepping back behind Eli as they moved as one to get a better look of the fight.

Teresa looked to Eli who nodded to her then back to her new opponent. "You did say Priscilla didn't you?" she asked. "Well Priscilla, you could have easily struck from behind before I knew you were there, mind telling me why you didn't?"

"Because that would have been a coward's attack Miss Teresa." Teresa raised her brow at this. "By the way I have one question I'd like you to answer. Tell me why. Why you failed to accept your execution at the appointed time. I can't imagine what your reasons must be. The guidelines the organization created help to insure that we are able to work in peace our rules allow people to feel safe and make it easier for us to make sure that they actually are safe." Priscilla preached griping her sword tight with anger. "But since you broke those rules people fear us more than ever. You single-handedly destroyed the trust that took years to develop, and that is unforgivable! So…" she finished putting her claymore into an attack stance. "You leave me with no choice, I am forced to act, your head is mine!"

Eli narrowed his eyes behind his goggles at Priscilla, utterly disgusted by her little speech. _"What a nice little drone the organization's made. I wonder what would happen if she found out the truth that Teresa now knows. But will she choose to tell her? Will she explain herself at all? I wonder… what will your response be Teresa?"_

"What a pity." Teresa started after moments of silence. "For such an intelligent young lady to be so brainwashed by the organization, but I'll be happy to respond to your lecture." She said closing her eyes then opening them again. "Unfortunately the real world isn't always so black and white… little Claymore." She mocked.

Eli smirked at Teresa's response as Priscilla brought her blade up and Teresa blocked though barely their intertwining blades were creating sparks as each sword tried to dominate the other. They broke the lock as Teresa swung to the side Priscilla dodged with a flip and stuck with her sword from behind which Teresa blocked with a behind the back block of her sword then swung up as Priscilla deftly avoided. Pricsilla now on the offensive took swing after swing which Teresa dogged one after another before Priscilla jumped up and brought her blade down as Teresa blocked with her claymore. _"Damn…"_ Teresa thought as Priscilla put her face close to Teresa's a swung down just as Teresa moved out of the way, creating a large gash in the pavement. Teresa breathed a little heavy as Clare grew a little more concerned gripping Eli's cloak more tightly.

"This girl's not bad! Look at this she's actually keeping up with Teresa!" Noel observed visibly impressed.

"Hey Clare," Eli said looking down on her as Eli started to speak. "Do you know why they-"

"-goes by Teresa of the Faint Smile?" Irene asked.

Clare shook her head. "No I always figured it was because she smiles whenever she kills a yoma." Noel stated looking over to Irene.

"That is not a unique trait." Irene reprimanded. "So why does Teresa go by that name and not either of you?"

"I guess I don't know." Noel admitted. "Tell me."

"Well Clare, some warriors have agility and speed, others have strength and others still have special techniques. But Teresa is not known for anything other than her 'faint smile'." Eli continued looking to Teresa as Clare looked up to Eli listening intently.

"She may not be known for anything other than her smile, but she certainly has the skills to hold her own." Noel noted.

"Not exactly." Irene explained. "Combined the three of us are far more powerful than Teresa, however, she possess a rare gift that exceeds all of our tactical abilities."

"What?" Noel asked now more interested.

The battle raged on as a window was smashed to pieces.

"One trait makes Teresa the most powerful, her amazing ability to sense the yoki of a yoma."

"Her talent at yoki sensing goes beyond sensing the location of yoma or even sensing from far away like I can. She feels even the smallest movement of yoki within the opponent she faces; at close range she even surpasses my sensing abilities." Eli explained as Clare listened closely. "In battle the yoki flows into crucial parts of the body even before they're used. Teresa can sense every move that's made. This Priscilla on the other hand-"

"-can fight with her yoki power completely suppressed, which makes her the perfect challenger for our number one." Irene finished.

"Look out!" Clare called to Teresa as Priscilla thrusted and Teresa blocked. Teresa and Priscilla began to exchange blows faster and faster until the blades themselves made so much noise it damaged the objects around them, shattering windows, and crumbling the already damaged inn. Eli covered Clare's ears with his hands so she wouldn't have to hear it as bad as the fight continued.

"Honestly you two are worse than children." Sophia mocked standing out in the road a few yards from Teresa and Priscilla's exchange.

"What a show! This is one hell of a fight!" Noel exclaimed. "I never seen two warriors matched together so evenly before! I got to admit that kid has some great moves! It should have been over by now, but the rookies fighting on equal footing with Teresa! Wait…equal?"

Teresa and Priscilla parted jumping back from each other as Priscilla looked to her cheek as a trickle of blood dropped down.

"It is time. We must join the fight before Teresa takes our young friend's head off." Irene concluded.

"Eli! Do something Teresa's in trouble!" Clare whined looking up at Eli.

"It's alright Clare, Teresa's making a comeback right about now. She's stopped relying on her senses and is really starting to fight. Priscilla doesn't stand a chance." He grinned down at her as Clare looked uneasy but more reassured by Eli's words. "After all she is the best of the warriors."

"_What's going on? I'm getting so much slower and she's getting faster! But why?"_ Priscilla thought as Teresa charged her and they locked blades again now running while their blades were entwined. _"But why? Why is this happening to me? She's the villain here! I've always worked so hard to save humans and she's killed so many of them! So why can't I win? Why can't I defeat her? It isn't fair!"_ she screamed in her mind as they broke the blade lock once more before bringing her blade down on Teresa again as she blocked with her claymore.

Eli watched the battle with intensity and interest. _"No warrior has even possessed so much raw ability not even Isley had this much shine just starting out."_ Eli thought as he continued to watch.

"_There's no telling how powerful she could become." _Teresa thought as she continued to block Priscilla's blow. _"And even if we both walk away from this, who's to say what will happen the next time?"_ Teresa looked over to one side of the bridged where Eli and Clare were standing and closed her eyes for a moment making her mental decision."I'm sorry to disappoint you but I don't think I'm ready to die just yet." With that she broke Priscilla's guard and just as she was about to take her head was blocked by Irene's sword. As Teresa jumped back to gain her footing Noel jumped from behind bringing her own sword down as Teresa blocked before kicking her away. Sophia thrust from the side as Teresa dodged and jumped into the air, landing on Sophia's blade before cutting her at swift speed and landing behind her.

Teresa chuckled as she saw she was now surrounded by the four warriors.

"Nice cut." Noel commented. "It looks good. I've never had one."

"Yeah you'll have to tell me all about what it's like to be kicked such a great distance." Sophia countered.

"We can't it's wrong. It's too cruel to make her fight all four of us together. We don't even fight yomas like this! Let me finish her!" Priscilla spoke up to the others.

Eli raised a brow at this. _"is she serious right now?"_

"Don't be so naïve!" Irene berated gaining the attention of Priscilla. "If it weren't for our assistance your head would no longer be attached to your body. Don't let your misguided sense of honor cloud your judgment. Teresa is no longer a warrior; she is a criminal who has betrayed the organization, she doesn't deserve your honor. Now we've been sent her to end her existence. and that's exactly what we're going to do. Priscilla, I want you to focus all of your power into taking the life of that murderer, now GO!" she yelled releasing her yoki as Noel and Sophia followed suit. Their eyes becoming golden and slit, their yoki becoming visible like a wind.

Priscilla closed her eyes. "I understand. I will bring her down, traitors must be stopped at all costs." She said opening her eyes. "My apologies Teresa, if I had my choice I alone would destroy you. But you have brought this on YOURSELF!" she bellowed releasing her yoki as her eyes too became gold and slit, her massive yoki causing harsh winds and the waters beneath the bridge to be pushed away.

Eli shielded Clare from the worst as he looked on and felt the massive raw potential and yoki of Priscilla and incredible rage, malice, and a small bit of sorrow mixed in. _"I have a bad feeling about this."_

"Here we go." Priscilla announced as she disappeared in a burst of speed appearing behind Teresa as she blocked the high-powered high-speed blow. Irene and Sophia followed up as they brought their blades down a just as Teresa dodged out of the way. Noel followed Teresa through the air as she engaged Teresa in quick sword blows on the roofs, Sophia then jumped in from below with a downward swing which Teresa evaded with ease. Noel joined in with a few swings which were all avoided by Teresa as she landed gracefully on her feet on the ground.

Irene came from behind and engaged Teresa once more with her quick sword, striking again and again at subsonic speeds while Teresa blocked with her claymore. Priscilla came from behind as she swung to cleave her head in two. Clare shouted for Teresa and she evaded with a flip landing on her feet elegantly, revealing her sword to be stained with blood.

Priscilla swore and Irene's shoulders and upper chest became fountains of blood as she keeled over. "Irene!"

Sophia and Noel swung with downward swords as they attempted to take Teresa's head but she darted out of the way. Running as Noel came up from behind to slash her as Teresa ducked and engaged Noel kicking her in the stomach sending her through a wood door as she coughed blood.

Sophia came from behind and resumed her bout with Teresa as Noel picked herself from the wreckage and shrieked. Teresa moved in a flash appearing behind Sophia and slashing her mid-section. Sophia held her new wound as Noel came to stand beside her, both ready to continue.

"Eli why won't you help?" Clare pleaded to Eli.

"Because I have you to take care of, besides can't you use your eyes? She's winning!" Eli assured.

Priscilla bent down to look over Irene. "Irene! Irene! Are you alright? Irene!" she pleaded.

Irene looked up to Priscilla. "Don't mind me. Go!" she murmured.

"But I-" Priscilla bean.

"I told you! We were sent here to do a job, so do it!" she barked. "Forget about me. Just do everything in your power to take Teresa's head." She finished weakly.

"Right!" Priscilla said activating her yoki and flying off.

Irene clenched her fists "Damn it. With the four of us I thought that maybe we could somehow close in on Teresa but…" her eyes widened as she saw Noel, Sophia, and Priscilla being brought down. "Is that it? Was that my error? Have I been underestimating Teresa the whole time? Extraordinary… she hasn't even begun to access her yoki powers."

"What now?" Clare asked wondering if the fight was over.

"Clare go to the inn and get out belongings okay?" requested Eli. Clare nodded as she ran off to the inn. "We're leaving."

"Now then…" Teresa said walking over to Priscilla as she picked herself off the ground. Priscilla's eyes widened with fear as Eli and Irene shared the same line of thought. _"She can sense it, Priscilla's true potential. She sees someone who could surpass even her, and she intends to make sure that it never happens right here and now."_

Irene's thought trailed off _"Teresa of the Faint Smile is to be feared. No matter how many time she has to fight us we pose no threat to her, so she hurt us just enough to immobilize us. But Priscilla who should still be on her feet is frozen in terror in the face of Teresa's overwhelming strength._

Eli's thoughts trailed differently. _"I can't help but feel some pity for this warrior. She seems so…innocent almost. Like a child too easily lead astray. Still this might be for the best, if we allow her to live she could come back much stronger than before and by that time even I won't be able to do a thing about it. But will you do it Teresa? Kill a girl such as Priscilla to remain the apex predator?"_

Priscilla was frozen with fear on the ground. _"I'm scared. I'm so scared. I don't wanna die. I don't wanna die._ She inwardly sobbed. _"Please somebody come save me! Daddy? Daddy please! SAVE ME!"_

Teresa then sheathed her claymore as Irene gasped and Eli raised a brow. "I swear I must be going soft. That face will just keep haunting my conscience." Teresa said exasperatedly.

"Eli! Teresa!" Clare called as she ran out of the inn. "Got it all! Even this thing you wear around your waist Teresa!"

"You actually bothered to bring that too? Teresa question walking up to Clare as Eli did the same."Must have been heavy huh?"

Clare shook her head. "Uh-uh" Teresa put her hand on Clare's head as she turned around to address the warriors.

"You can come attack me all you want, I'll defeat you at each encounter." She stated before Teresa held Clare's hand and walked off Eli keeping pace as they walked by the bloodied form of Irene who growled as they passed.

"Farewell, sorry for the mess." Teresa said as she passed by a few of the townspeople who just watched in stunned silence as the trio walked out of the city..

"This will probably come back to bite us in the ass, you do realize that right?" Eli whispered to Teresa who just shrugged off the comment as she continued to walk.

Irene got to her feet as she stared after the trio._"Inconceivable. Teresa showing mercy to an enemy? The old Teresa would not have hesitated to behead her. However at least now we still have hope." _She thought walking over to Priscilla who was still sobbing on her knees.

"Stop crying." Irene ordered. "The fight isn't over yet. Now get up!"

"Unfor…givable…" Priscilla mumbled. "Unforgivable. Unforgivable. Unforgivable." She repeated louder and louder as she gritted her teeth and tightened her fists. "Unforgivable. Unforgivable. Unforgivable. Unforgivable. Unforgivable. "

Irene reached a hand out to her. "Priscilla?" The air around Priscilla exploded in a fountain of purple light as she released her yoki and her anger at once. Irene, Noel and Sophia looked on at the display of pure power and rage.

"TERESA'S A MURDERER! SHE A VILLAIN!" Priscilla bellowed as her yoki increased and her eyes turned yellow. "SHE VIOLATED THE ORGANIZATION'S RULES!"

"Stop this it's beyond your control!" Irene shouted. "You cannot defeat Teresa like this!" Priscilla ignored her grabbing her claymore from the ground she flew off in the direction of her obsession. "Don't go!"

"Damn brat!" Noel cursed. "There's no way she'll be able to stop her!"

"_Careless!" _Irene thought. _"I was so mesmerized by her latent abilities that I forgot she is still just a child!"_ Irene turned to her fellow warriors who had just picked themselves from the ground "You alright? Noel Sophia?"

"Yeah" Noel replied.

"Yes." Sophia answered.

"Good." Irene continued looking in the direction Priscilla just bounded off in. "Let's move. She has no idea what her limits are yet." With that they hurried off after Priscilla.

* * *

><p>Teresa, Eli and Clare had just gotten back to their previous overlook when Eli stopped. "What is it?" Teresa asked.<p>

"I really hate being right." Eli replied. Teresa was about to inquire further when Priscilla landed right before them. Her veins on her face were protruding, her teeth and hair looked sharper and spikier her skin pigment had gone from crème to light gray and her eyes were slit and shining golden, she was looking more and more like a yoma all the time.

"Don't do it. With the state you're in now we can fight again and again and you will never win." Teresa deadpanned as Clare hugged her leg tightly. Priscilla's yoki exploded once more as purple gushes of yoki flowed forth from her body.

"Priscilla let it go. If you release too much power without proper training you will not turn back." Teresa said calmly as before. "When we mixed breeds release ten percent of our yoki powers the colors of our eyes change. At thirty it shows in our faces. At fifty out physiques change. Once you pass eighty percent you almost no hope of changing back to normal! As it stands right now, you should already be well over seventy."

"SHUT UP!" Priscilla roared charging Teresa. Eli picked Clare up in a flash and moved to safer distance while Teresa blocked Priscilla's blow. "YOU ARE A MURDERER! A FILTHY MURDERER!" Priscilla shrieked. Her body deformed more as her muscles grew her wrist guards broke.

"The limits to which you can use your power are something you have to learn gradually from fight to fight." Teresa continued. "You however lack that level of experience entirely!" Priscilla pushed her blade back as Teresa stood her ground regaining her footing after being pushed back. Priscilla jumped and impaled the ground where Teresa was as Teresa dodged out of the way. _"Her yoki aura is massive! Eli was right she is far stronger than the other three. I can't even read the energy flow."_ Priscilla plunged her blade at Teresa's head as Teresa saw the blade miss her by mere centimeters. She then brought the blade back as the arm extended. Teresa ducked and Priscilla wrapped the arm around her body in an attempt to strike her again.

"Watch out!" Clare warned as Teresa knocked the blade away, though not entirely as Teresa now wore a small cut on her forehead. "You're bleeding." Clare said fearing for one of the only people she cared for.

"HOW DARE YOU KILL MY OWN FATHER! GRRRAAA! HOW DARE YOU! UNFORGIVABLE! JUST DIE! YOU HEAR ME? I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!" Priscilla roared releasing yet another wave of yoki energy.

Eli watched on, amazed by Priscilla's massive yoki reserves. _"Her self-awareness is fading quickly."_ Eli thought as he watched. "Teresa! Release your yoki! You have to!"

Teresa closed her eyes _"He's right. I've run out of options, this must end NOW!"_ she thought releasing her own yoki as her eyes turned golden.

The battle raged on each fought with ferocity and tenacity, the echoes of their blows reverberated throughout the mountains. Irene, Sophia, and Noel watched from a distance, though none of them could see what was happening all of them could feel it.

"Damn! Unbelievable. The yoki aura's I'm sensing are insane!" commented Noel.

Sophia shifted in her place "I agree! It's basically just two monsters over there, what could we possibly do against them?"

"Both auras are greater than anything I have ever seen. But…" Irene started.

"What?" Sophia asked.

"It's clear that one of them far exceeds the other. But which one?" Irene finished.

Priscilla screeched as she charged Teresa again landing swing after swing on Teresa's claymore with no effect as Teresa blocked them all. Priscilla sent a blow so strong that the blade created harsh gusts of wind with each swing, Eli had to act as a windbreaker so Clare wouldn't fly off.

The three reached the battle ground and looked on in awe. "What? What the-?" Noel started looking at the hulking form of the number two. "Is… is that Priscilla?" Priscilla howled and rushed towards Teresa again beginning her assault anew.

"Irene is she-?" Sophia asked.

"Not yet." She replied. "She hasn't exceeded her limit. If we stop her now she should be able to revert to human form, if we're able to stop her. How does one even begin to battle against such a fantastic, unrivaled power like that?" Teresa attacked slicing off one pauldron as the warriors widened their eyes in surprise. Priscilla just began a new assault using her new extended limbs to attack in quick unexpected succession; Teresa parried each blow before slashing the Priscilla's other shoulder splitting her remaining pauldron. Priscilla turned and struck again Teresa parried and knocked her into the ground.

The Warriors three gasped at the battle situation. "Amazing! Teresa's able to fend off her furious rage! Better yet she's winning. And only using enough yoki to change her eye color. Could this be the true strength of Teresa's power.

Clare relaxed a little as she saw the state of the battle. "Teresa." She whispered. Eli smirked. _"Magnificent. She truly is a prodigy of her time. She has a level of power that took me years to achieve and she wields them like they were nothing, as if they were as natural to her as breathing air. Had we gone all out in our last fight, I'm not sure I'd still be here._

Priscilla leaned up against a rock as Teresa held her blade tip to her chin. "While you can still head my words, you're reaching your limit. Suppress your yoma side and revert to human form. Now focus you've got to, you are fast approaching the point of no return.

"My daddy…" Priscilla mumbled. "Give me back my daddy." She continued the drool had formed on her lips as she rambled on. "Daddy was always so kind to me. I love him so much… and he ate them. He made me watch it. He ate their innards… right in front of me!" Priscilla jumped again in another attempt to kill Teresa.

"No!" Irene yelled as Teresa stopped the blow as Priscilla jumped back continuing her half-crazed ramblings.

"That's when I had to kill my daddy! While he was eating my big sister! Chopped off his head! HE MADE ME DO IT!" she roared as her back protruded from her uniform. She hunched over as he body began to pulsate.

Eli widened his eyes. "Teresa! You have to do it now! She's past her limit! She's going to awaken!" he called to her.

Teresa and the warriors looked to Eli for a moment as Irene thought. _"How does he know about-"_ her thoughts were interrupted as Priscilla cried out, her whole body continuing to throb as her body continued to morph.

"Can't…" Priscilla started gaining some semblance of her mind as everyone turned their attention back to her. "Can't… go… back… help me… please" she pleaded before Teresa, looking up into her eyes as tears streamed down from her eyes. "You have to… I don't… I don't wanna live like this!"

"Too late, the yoma side is all that's left of her." Irene said as the others looked on at the transformed warrior.

"Please…" Priscilla pleaded almost inaudibly.

"I'm sorry. It is no longer within my power to help you." Teresa said with a small piece of contrite. "About the best I can give you is a swift beheading before you're taken over by your yoma side."

Priscilla was silent for a moment before lowering her head. "Then please… take my head. Kill me… while my heart is still human." She finished quietly.

Eli watched as some pity fell over him once more for the little warrior. _"Poor kid. Family killed by yoma, disguised as her own father no less, reminds me too much of…"_ Eli stopped his thoughts for a moment before continuing._ "At any rate even I can't help her now. Her yoki is too massive and wild for me to sync with, to try and reverse the transformation. If I tried I'd likely only end up awakening myself. "_ he looked over to the three warriors. _"Besides even if I could and did do something to help my anonymity would be completely destroyed and I can't have that… not yet. In the end this is probably the best… and only option."_

"So be it. I will be sure you do not suffer." Teresa promised.

Priscilla gripped her claymore as Eli felt her aggression spike. "Teresa! Look out!" Eli shouted but it was too late. Priscilla with one swift motion had cut off Teresa's forearms. Teresa's blade fell to Clare's side as she looked to the blade; it was still tightly gripped by her severed hands. Priscilla then finished Teresa off with a single step and swing as she decapitated Teresa. A moment of shock passed through Eli, Clare and the three warriors as their brains registered what had happened, Teresa of the Faint Smile had been slain.

"Te…re…sa…?" Clare said softly as she watched Teresa's headless corpse fall to the ground. Priscilla's rage skyrocketed as she released the full power of her yoki in an explosion of purple light and sound. Her body morphed faster than before as she grew taller and spouted a horn from her forehead, her teeth grew longer and sharper and wings spouted from her back.

"What the hell is that thing?" Noel asked watching the scene with horror.

"That 'thing' transcends yoma! It's a species completely separate from the human race! An Awakened being!" Irene uttered with horror.

"Eli! What's happening?" Clare said yelling into Eli's ear.

"It's the beginning of something terrible Clare!" Eli shouted back over the loud wind. "The birth of a monster."

The smoke cleared as Priscilla stood up, her transformation complete. **"Is that it? All that fuss and there was no reason to hold back, and I never realized it would feel this good."** She said quietly.

Everyone stared in stunned silence at her new demon-like form. She stood at about three meters tall now with large bat-like wings coming from her back and a horn growing out of the middle of her forehead. Her skin had turned to a purple-gray hue and her eyes gleamed gold.

"She's a monster." Irene said slowly still in shock.

**"It hurts. Time to eat."** Priscilla said lackadaisically walking towards the remaining spectators. **"I want to tear open the stomach. Bury my face in the warmth of wet bloody entrails. Savor every piece of**** viscera****, down to the last tiny bits of flesh."**

Eli looked on in astonishment as he felt fear and pure rage grip him. _"She… she killed Teresa! And I didn't do anything! Just stood there like an imbecile! But her power… it's… it's unbelievable… almost beyond my own comprehension! I've never felt anything this powerful! Not even when Isley awakened did I feel this much power!"_ Eli gripped the hilt of his claymore. "Clare stay behind that rock over there and don't move from there! Do you understand?" he said shouting to her she nodded then did and he commanded. _"I have no idea how I'm going to kill this… this… demon. But I have to try… for Teresa's sake...for Clare's sake. But the other three… they don't stand a chance!"_ he finished the thought throwing off his cloak and drawing his sword as the bandages around it unraveled, revealing the large blade. Now with only his boots, gloves, shirt and trousers on he resembled as he was from his old days as a warrior, save for the goggles.

Just as he finished Irene jumped slashing. Eli shouted "No! Don't! Wait!" Irene was knocked away in a flash of movement she landed hard on her feet as her left arm had been severed above her elbow.

**"No… poor Irene. What's the matter? It seems your arm has gone missing."** Priscilla mocked using the same eerily calm soothing voice. Irene breathed hard as she struggled slightly with the pain. **"Oh look. Here it is." **She continued holding the bloodied appendage in her hand. **"I suppose you can have it back. But do try hold on to your belongings in the future." **She said tossing it lightly in Irene's direction.

Eli disappeared in a flash as he tried to catch her off guard from behind. Priscilla caught his blade arm and tore it out of its socket before he even realized it was gone. She then caught his torso in her hand and held him up like a rag doll. **"And who do we have here? One of Teresa's playthings?"** she mocked then licked the blood from his arm showing slight disgust as she threw it to the side. **"You taste awful. I wonder why? Oh well, doesn't matter, go away now."** She said throwing him with tremendous force into a rock face creating a large creator in the wall where he made contact.

Irene watched as the man was thrown into the rock face. _"Who is that man? His yoki's tremendous! But still nothing compared to hers."_ Irene wondered as she watched Noel and Sophia make their attempt. Priscilla raised her hand and extended her fingers impaling Noel and Sophia through the head and their bodies killing them instantly.

"Noel! Sophia!" Irene cried as she watched her fellow warriors being killed.

"**I see."** Priscilla continued. Her fingers still imbedded in the warriors. **"So all of you here intend to kill me. "** Irene seethed as Priscilla spoke. **"I think you will…fail."** With the last word she disappeared in a flash cutting Irene across her body as she fell to the ground.

Eli just climbed out of the hole in the wall as just in time to watch as Irene was being stuck down. Eli regenerated his arm and jumped out, his fear being replaced by outrage as he released his yoki in a burst of green-blue light. Priscilla turned her attention back to Eli and watched with disinterest as his body changed. He grew taller as his body became wider. His arms extended and became thin as his goggled eyes glowed like spheres of gold behind the dark glass. His legs became thinner and bonier as they became bird-like and his feet burst out of his boots with large clawed toes. His arms then pricked with bone as they then extended down his arm and grew feathers and his fingers became talons. His neck became longer and his hair turned as midnight blue as his feathers and skin, his face became extended as he grew a large lizard-like snout. As he finished his mild transformation he roared and charged Priscilla, talons raised.

**"Pointless."** She said as she disappeared in a flash and held the transformed Eli by his arms in spread eagle style. **"The wings have to go."** She said ripping his arms out of his sockets in one swift motion. Eli fell to the ground and screeched a horrible sound before his arms regenerated and he scratched her face with his new talon. Priscilla touched her cheek where she had been scratched then kicked him back into the rock face with even greater force then before. She then charged over, picked him out of the rock face and ripped one of his legs off, causing Eli to screech in pain again. She then grabbed him by the neck and threw him one last time into the rock face, this time just against it not through it though it still left a dent. After she towered over the wounded form of Eli she extended her finger through his chest into his heart, he twitched for a moment then stopped moving all together, she licked some of the blood off her finger and spat on the ground. **"Ugh. Still not tasty. I wonder what he really was… oh well, doesn't matter now. That was kinda tiresome though, I've worked up quite an appetite. Well then, shall we move on?'** she walked towards Clare who was on her knees speechless at all she had just witnessed, and in total terror now at the demon walking slowly towards her. Just when Clare thought it was the end she walked right past her without even looking down, as if she wasn't even worth noticing. With that she used her newly found wings and flew off into the mountains and out of sight.

Clare stayed still for what seemed like hours and then picked herself up. She looked over to the disembodied head of Teresa then over to the still form of Eli, who by this time had mostly reverted back to his old form, but his body remained otherwise still she looked over to the corpses of the warriors and then finally back to Teresa's head. She walked slowly towards the head and got down on her knees and began to weep, reaching for the head and holding it in her lap s weeping over their deaths. Then she got up and left, leaving the scene behind her.

* * *

><p>Eli woke up hours later, his body in pain as he regenerated his leg and the gaping hole in his chest she had pierced part of his heart but didn't destroy it entirely, he then suppressed his yoki staying still for the longest time before picking himself up and assessing the scene. "Clare! Clare! Clare where are you?" Eli called but there was no answer, he knew the worst had probably come to pass. He had friends die before, but it never got any easier as he wallowed for a minute in his own anguish. Then he went to see what was left. His cloak was seemingly the only salvageable piece of his clothing, his shirt and trousers were torn nearly beyond repair, not to mention his gloves and boots which were now shreds of leather on the ground. He then walked to his blade and picked it up rewrapping it and sheeting it on his back then he walked over to the bodies and noticed something Irene's body and claymore were gone only her arm was left and Teresa' head was nowhere to be found either, aside from that everything was accounted for. Using his blade as a makeshift shovel he dug three graves resting Teresa's headless body in one and Sophia and Noel's body in the other two. He may not have liked them for hunting them, but they were only doing their jobs, and they deserved better than to rot out in the open. Placing their three blades as markers he then bowed before the graves and left, it was time to plan his next move, especially with Priscilla now on the loose.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile…<em>

* * *

><p>Clare walked through the streets of a town slowly as she made her way though drawing looks from the villages as they looked and gasped in surprise, disgust, and horror. Clare then saw whom she was looking for and raced on towards her goal. A man dressed in black was walking away from her when he noticed her approach she held out Teresa's head and shouted with tears in her eyes. "Please do it! It's Teresa's flesh and blood! Put it inside now!" The man in black gave a smirk. "As you wish."<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Alright, done with the Teresa arc.<strong> **Look I know some readers (the few you are) might complain that Eli, quite frankly, didn't do jack-shit in the past two chapters, but don't worry we'll be focusing more on him in the next few chapters so stay tuned. Oh and for all those still keeping up with the manga and having read about "Lars" the real number six in the actual manga don't worry I have a plan for him when we get around to it. Oh and by the by most chapters from now on will be about 10K-15K number of words unless I feel more or less is more appropriate.**


	7. Ch 7: A Warrior's Grit

**Not much to say, so just start reading already.**

**I don't own Claymore.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 7: A Warrior's Grit<p>

_Present Day…_

* * *

><p>A teen girl ran as fast as she could though a field, her chest heaving as fear willed her body forward faster than it was meant to. She turned to look back and saw the figure in the shape of a man that was pursuing her in the distance.<p>

"Wait! Hey! Come back!" He called out to her. "There's no reason to leave in such a hurry!" he jeered as he gained speed and the distance between them was quickly shortened. "Come **ON!"** he continued as he jumped through the air and transformed landing in front of her, now in his true yoma state.

"Aahhh!' She cried out as she beheld in front of her the incarnation of her recent fears.

"**Hahahahaha"** the yoma cackled as he leaned in to begin his meal, only for a sword to slice through his skull just above the bridge of his nose as the owner of the blade killed her quarry. The yoma's body hit the ground as sickening purple blood oozed out onto the ground; the blade's owner shook the blood from the blade before sheathing it, turning her attention to the young girl.

"You're Claymores!" She uttered, still in shock at her sudden rescue. Three Claymore stood before her all with matching uniforms and blades. The Claymore to the girl's left had pale blonde hair which was held back in a ponytail except for the bangs which were drawn across her forehead in an arch. To her right the Claymore had rather short pale blonde hair which was parted and tucked behind her ears, allowing the hair to stick out like spike from behind. The middle claymore had long, parted, pale brown hair styled in a razor-shag cut.

"And you must be from Toriro." The middle claymore observed. "So tell me girl, how bad is it in town?"

"I don't know." She whimpered.

* * *

><p>Clare sheathed her claymore as the yoma before her dropped dead. Eli and Raki stood off to the side watching as Clare made quick work of the yoma.<p>

Eli stepped forward slowly clapping his hands as he approached the silver-blonde haired girl. "Very nice Clare, very good work, though you did let one slip by you." Clare acknowledged his words and moved to intercept before Eli raised his hand and she stopped. "Don't bother, the three you were supposed to meet up with are just outside of town, let them handle it."

"Fine." Clare replied as she shook the blood off her claymore and Raki ran up to her.

"Wow Clare! You took those yoma out no problem!" Raki beamed.

Eli placed his hand on Raki's head and rubbed it teasingly. "'Course she did, kid! This is Clare after all. Takes more than a few yomas to take her down." Raki shook the hand off as he rubbed his head and gave Clare's "long-time friend" a slight glare before returning his gaze to Clare.

Clare however was looking at the recently slain yoma and her jaw slightly tightened as her look became one of mixed disappointment and anger for a moment, before relaxing her features and returning to her usual stoic look.

The warriors three made their way through town before coming upon Clare, Raki and Eli. The middle Claymore looked over to the bodies of slain yoma then returned her gaze to the three, looking past Eli and Raki and focusing her attention on Clare.

Raki turned to look at the warriors three. "Clare? These friends of yours?" he asked her.

"Interesting." Said the middle claymore, obviously the leader of the three as she addressed Clare. "There were five of them. Seems you fought and killed four of the creatures by yourself. The fifth one escaped and would have killed a woman right outside of town, had we not saved her. So perhaps you care to explain to us what happened here."

"I knew you three were coming from that direction and could take him; that is, as long as you didn't take your time getting here.' Clare coolly replied.

"The Organization said there was a chance that these were voracious eaters, and we were instructed to wait for them to gather in the same place, then the four of us were to do the job together." The Claymore condescended. "We were just following orders."

Clare turned around slightly to face the leader Claymore. "Well unfortunately they were just normal yoma."

Eli as well as the Claymore, were both slightly surprised by Clare's choice of words. "I think you mean 'fortunately'. If they were voracious eaters then you'd be the one lying in the street right now instead of them." The Claymore lectured. Raki became slightly rigged at the notion of Clare dying, which Eli noticed but remained silent to watch the Claymore exchange. "Or was this an attempt at foolish bravery?"

"Not really. I arrived here early and realized they were regular yoma, I then decided to proceed and confront them head on." Clare replied still calm and collected.

The leader closed her eyes. "Interesting. I'm going to inform the Organization about your disobedience." With that she turned around and the three walked away and out of the village.

Raki watched them leave then stepped in front of Clare. "Wait. You mean you thought they were voracious eaters? You told me that they were just normal yoma." He said.

"I did." Clare acknowledged simply.

"Taking them on all by yourself is crazy!" Raki objected, "Clare you really shouldn't be so reckless!"

Clare sheathed her claymore. "Alright Raki, I'll keep that in mind for the future.'

* * *

><p>Night fell as a fire crackled with embers lighting the dark night. "Well, I can see that you're just as careless as ever." Rubel chastised. "What would you have done if they really were voracious eaters?" he paused. "Oh, what am I talking about? You were hoping that was the case… Am I correct?"<p>

Clare stared blankly at him without emotion as he continued. 'I have to admit, I do admire your courage. But you have no idea what you're up against when it comes to voracious eaters."

"That's not true. I fought one in the cathedral." Clare countered.

"Actually that was just a normal one." He corrected. "It did need to eat more than usual to maintain its size, but it was really just an underling." Clare paused at this as Rubel started to explain. "You see we use 'voracious eater' as a code word. Publicly it's much easier to explain what those creatures are by referring to them as such. What we're actually talking about here are awakened beings."

Clare gasped as memories of Priscilla's awakening flooded her mind.

"They are born from the failures of our own ranks." Rubel continued. "Of course as far as the public is concerned they're just yoma who have lived a very long time. If you were ever to face a true voracious eater, an awakened being, then remember this; it is quite certain you'd be dead in a matter of seconds."

Clare paused a moment then replied. "You're lack of faith in my skills is unfortunate, goodbye." She finished as she turned around and began to walk away.

"It's Priscilla…" Rubel simply started causing Clare to stop in her tracks. "You want to take Priscilla's head, am I right about that?" Clare didn't answer. "Well, you'd best forget that notion because even amongst awakened beings she's in the top of her class, and her awakening released all of her latent power. But of course she only did so in order that she could defeat Teresa, otherwise there might have been another outcome."

Clare still remained silent as memories of the Claymores' as well as Eli's and Teresa's defeat flashed through her mind.

"When it comes to awakened beings our policy has always been to treat them just like any other yoma." Rubel continued. "We are to simply leave them alone unless ordered to take them down as part of a contract."

Clare turned her head and eyed Rubel. "So what if a job comes in where we're supposed to take down Priscilla?"

"If that were to happen then our Organization's total strength would be brought down upon her. But only our leader can decide that. Don't worry; our top warriors are quite capable, I'm confident they could bring her down." He finished. "Of course every era does have its heroes you know." He added whimsically. "Unfortunately, no matter what you think, you're not one of them."

Clare slightly glared as Rubel sighed. "Very well… I'll add your name to a team that's been assigned to an awakened being."

Clare genuinely looked surprised as Rubel continued. "It's a job in the mountains west of here; apparently it's the result of a warrior who missed their chance to die. I believe it will be a good opportunity for you to see just how competent you really are." He finished as Clare walked back to the campsite.

She found Raki sleeping and crouched down to touch his head, then she stood up and looked to the moon her hand resting on the center of her "stigmata". _"Teresa…"_ Clare thought before Eli appeared behind her, his goggles on his forehead as his silver eyes shone brightly in the darkness like candle light.

"He is correct you know." Eli started as he walked towards Clare. "You have no idea what you're getting into."

"You were listening in on us?" Clare questioned, turning to face him.

"I'm always watching over you… and him I suppose." Eli continued motioning to Raki. "These… 'awakened beings' they're not to be taken lightly."

"So, you too have doubt in my abilities." Clare observed.

"Clare. I'm serious." Eli said, concern and earnestness permeating his voice. "You have no idea how powerful an awakened being can truly be. Even the weakest of them can be a handful. You're too weak all by yourself, you will be torn apart."

Clare was silent for a moment. "But you'll be there right? You said you would help me kill Priscilla."

"I meant I would be there to protect you Clare, from monsters and fights you're just not ready for. With a team by your side, you'll still have a chance to be safe against a lesser awakened being. But Priscilla? Clare… it's suicide to try and fight her." Eli implored. "You, me, and the whole of the Organization could be there and she'd still crush us like bugs underneath her heel."

"So we'll both get stronger." Clare contended.

"Clare… you hear but you do not listen!" Eli continued. "I am decades old and have acquired great power over many years of fighting and training, and hell maybe in time you could realize some of the potential you have in yourself. But Priscilla… she wields power like I've never felt before, not even the most frightening awakened beings can hold a candle to her. She's just beyond you and me, beyond anything we could even hope to destroy."

Clare turned to face Eli fully. "If you are so frightened of her then why did you come?"

"Because… I care what happens to you Clare. I don't want to see you get killed and one of my only friends be gone forever. I came because I thought that maybe I could talk you out of this… this… madness." Eli insisted.

Clare walked up to Eli and got in close, mere inches from his face. "And what happens if I give up? What will Teresa's death mean if her killer isn't stopped?"

"Clare… you may have Teresa's blood and flesh, but you are not Teresa." Eli said sternly. "Teresa could wield power like I had seen few other times in my long years of life, she was a prodigy, even I was wary of fighting her. But you? Clare, you may have some measure of strength and some potential to boot, but I hate to say it, you don't even have a fraction of the power that Teresa had at her disposal. You're not even a shadow of what she was. So explain to me how you think that you could kill that which not even Teresa could slay, which not even I could kill."

Clare looked to the ground as her fists clenched together. "I have to try…" she said quietly.

"And do what exactly?!" Eli barked. "Clare! Forget this reckless quest for revenge! There's no need for you to die so… so…"

"So what?!" Clare barked back.

"…meaninglessly." Eli almost whispered.

"So that's it then? Teresa's death meant nothing to you? You're saying that I should just let Priscilla not only get away with killing Teresa, but continue to do as she pleases and wreak havoc?" Clare shot back.

"You know that's not true. But think about what you can do. Clare, you are Teresa's living legacy, if you are gone what will be left of her?" Eli said slowly. "And what about Raki? What do you think he will do if you go and try to get yourself killed? Have you even told him about all this, about any of it?

Clare was silent.

"You haven't have you?" Eli continued. "You are willing to go to the edges of the world to try and kill Priscilla and you haven't even told Raki of this fool's errand. Don't you even wonder what he would have to say about all this? Have you told him anything at all?" Clare remained silent, Eli continued. "Well, whatever. It's not my place to say anything to him, that's your responsibility. As for Priscilla I don't think you'll even be able to find her, let alone kill her."

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't I be able to find her?" Clare questioned but Eli closed his eyes and as it was his turn for silence. "You… you know where she is don't you?"

Eli opened his eyes and spoke. "Once… I did, but not anymore."

"What does that mean? Why don't you know where she is anymore? What aren't you telling me?" Clare persisted.

Eli paused before answering. "Some years ago, after Teresa had died, Priscilla went on a rampage and slaughtered many villages but then something happened… she vanished."

"Vanished? To where? How?" Clare interrogated.

"Who knows? Perhaps she's lying in wait somewhere, perhaps an awakened being, or more likely a large group of them, got lucky and killed her. Point is she's fallen off the face of the planet. Her whereabouts are unknown even to me. And if I can't even find her or kill her, what chance do you think you have of doing either?"

Clare was silent before she turned around. "I don't care how long it takes. I'm never going to stop. I'm going to find her, wherever she is, and take her head, make her pay. Nothing will stand in my way, not even you." Clare declared. "If you won't help me then it's best that you leave. I'm not taking your words lightly, but this is something I must to do, with or without you." With that she walked to her claymore and sat down away from him.

Eli grimaced as he punched a tree lightly; causing the whole tree to vibrate and shaking loose the various objects in its branches. _"Is there no end to the stubbornness of women?"_

* * *

><p><em>Back in Rabona...<em>

* * *

><p>Galatea looked to the mighty stone walls of the Holy City with slight admiration of its design. <em>"I must say the humans do know how to make a fine fortress."<em> She thought as Ermita walked up behind her.

"Do you feel it here?" he asked.

"No, it's gone from here. It's heading towards the Paburo mountain range." She informed.

"I see, I will go on ahead to contact and update the Organization, you are to meet me outside of Mount Paburo. Am I clear?" He instructed

"As you say." She acknowledged.

* * *

><p>Eli Clare and Raki arrived in town. It was unremarkable with stone building after stone building lining the streets. "So you're supposed to be meeting in this town?"<p>

"That's right." Clare affirmed.

Raki watched as she walked. _"She's really going to fight a voracious eater this time."_

Eli walked up from behind and ruffled Raki's hair. "You comin' kid?" he laughed as he walked off keeping pace with Clare.

Raki shook his head as he ran to catch up. _"Clare's a great warrior, she'll be fine."_

The three walked through the village before a man in black stepped out in front of them. "Follow me." He said.

After walking down an alleyway the cloaked man opened a door to a small dimly lit room as the three entered. "You're the last one to arrive. The rest are already here." He said.

There were three claymores sitting at the back of the room. The one on their right had pale blonde hair styled in a pixie cut. The center was the same Claymore leader from before, the last on their right had short parted pale blond hair with one side tucked behind her ear, she also wore non-standard black pieces of armor on her arms and legs. Aside from the right's black armor piece the three wore standard Claymore uniforms and had the standard equipment. Eli identified the Claymore on his right after a moment. _"Hnn… so we meet again… Helen."_

Helen stood up from the table as she eyed Clare and Eli before resting her eyes on Raki. "I see you brought the brat with you. Well… I'm sure he's not your kid. What did you do pick up a stray on your way over?" she mocked.

"_Charming. I forgot how pleasurable her company was."_ Eli thought.

"Please don't tell me this little boy is going to be fighting with us." Helen finished taking a smug stance.

"No, I'm going to leave him in town." Clare replied. "We'll look for an inn after this meeting."

"I get it now…" Helen started. "…he's a little toy you carry around with you."

Eli's eyes widened slightly at the comment before Clare did exactly what he thought she was going to do, her Claymore was drawn as she struck at Helen, their blades clashing with sparks as Raki gasped.

"Well goodness if you're that pissed off, I must have gotten close to the truth, huh?" she goaded.

The claymore on the left drew her sword to Clare's face. "You know… for such a late comer you have quite an attitude, but I guess we're all a bit on edge because we had to wait an entire week."

The man in black sighed. "I'll leave this argument to you Miria." He said as he walked out of the room and closed the door behind them.

"That's perfect. Just leave us here like this." Raki muttered under his breath.

"Helen and Deneve! Put them away right now!" the leader Claymore known as Miria barked. They complied as the warrior known as Deneve sheathed her Claymore and returned to her sitting position; Helen also put away her claymore but remained standing. "Unbelievable. First you brazenly disregard orders and now you arrive late delaying our mission. You lack much needed discipline. However… we need to get started." She said as Clare too sheathed her blade.

"The voracious eater we'll be hunting is on Mount Paburo, just south of here. We'll be heading out tomorrow morning." Miria briefed. "For now I would like everyone to introduce themselves and tell us your rank. It would also be helpful to know about any experience you've had with voracious eaters. I am known as Miria, I will be your commanding officer on this hunt I have a ranking of six. This mission will be my seventh hunt for a voracious eater.

"The name is Helen, my ranking is twenty–two, and I don't have any experience hunting these creatures." Helen recited.

"My name is Deneve, my ranking is fifteen, and I've been on two other hunting journeys." Deneve said calmly.

"_Name's Eli, former numbers six, two and one and I've killed around several dozen awakened beings."_ Eli thought.

Raki observed the conversation with a little interest, _"So they all have rankings… I wonder what Clare's is."_ He thought looking to Clare.

"My name's Clare, I have never encountered a voracious eater… I am forty-seven within the Organization." Clare said with some apprehension.

Deneve and Helen raised their heads at this while Eli and Miria remained stoic.

"Huh?" Helen blinked before bursting into a giggling fit. "Hahahaha! Oh my god, did you hear that Deneve? This one said that she was only a forty-seven. What were they thinking sending a rookie on this mission? Hahahaha." She cackled as she pointed and continued to laugh.

Raki ran forward. "Shut up! What's so damn funny? Don't you dare laugh at Clare she's killed hundreds of yoma."

"Oh, well I guess she didn't tell you did she?" Helen said coming up to Raki and pointing a finger to his chest, before grabbing him around the shoulder and leaning in close. "See… I'd pay attention if I were you. The way it works is that we're each assigned a different territory within this continent, sometimes we get killed and occasionally we gain members, but for the most part our rankings stay the same. This continent has forty-seven territories and we are assigned a number based on our strengths, if our number says how strong we are and she's forty-seventh then that means…" Raki widened his eyes in realization as he turned to Clare. "That's right out of all of us your friend here is the weakest one of all. Hence her ranking at the bottom." She finished as she continued to chuckle softly.

"Oh no." Raki said softly looking to Clare.

Eli finally walked up to Helen and stood before her as Helen finally gave the third visitor her notice. "Hey now, just because she's got the lowest number doesn't mean she can't fight. After all, it's like he said Clare here has killed hundreds of yoma."

"Heh. Well, I'm not holding my breath." Helen replied eyeing the man in the trench coat, there was a flicker of recognition. "Say, wait a minute," she said rising to full height "don't I know you from somewhere?"

Eli scoffed looking off to the side. "I doubt it; I probably just have one of those familiar faces."

Helen shook her head. "No… I've definitely seen you before…" She peered closer and squinted trying to recall her memory of him.

"Again… No, we've never met." Eli insisted as he parted his coat slightly and subtlety moved his hand into the open slightly as his fingers began to flex and bend seemingly on their own.

"Again, yes we have… wait, I remember now! Hey! You wer-" Helen stopped midsentence as she fell to the floor holding her head in her hands as a huge migraine ran through her skull.

Deneve took notice as Miria raised a brow at Helen's sudden actions, Eli simply stood still as he withdrew his hand back under his coat, his deed now done. "As I said. No, we haven't" he said calmly.

Deneve ran over to Helen as she picked her up from the floor. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah… it's was just really bad headache all of a sudden." She replied.

Deneve looked to Eli. "You said you've met this guy before?" she asked Helen.

"I… thought I did, but, I don't know. I can't remember what I was just thinking about." She replied rubbing her temples as Deneve steadied her and Helen regained balance on her feet.

Miria stood up. "Enough. I believe it is time that we adjourned for the evening. Everyone, dismissed." She said as she walked past Eli reaching out with her senses but feeling no yoki from him at all. There was something else though like massive blood lust, but not as savage, more concentrated and tempered, like a sharpened blade. She couldn't place her finger on it, but there was something…odd about him. _"Helen seemed to know of him, but after she had that migraine it was like she couldn't even remember what she was talking about, as if something suddenly made her forget. Who is this man? There's something out of place about him, something unusual, yet… familiar."_ With that thought she left the small room as everyone else followed out and went their separate ways.

* * *

><p>Clare, Eli and Raki had gotten a room in a nearby inn and were seated or standing in various positions around the room as the rain poured outside, pelting the window with soft taps. Clare looked out the window as Raki sat on the bed looking at the floor, Eli sat across from him in a chair his own covered blade leaning against his shoulder as he looked outside to the rain, all three were lost in thought as silence prevailed the room.<p>

"_She's the weakest of the claymores."_ Raki thought as he remembered all the yoma he had witnessed fall to Clare's blade. There was a clanking that broke his thoughts as he turned to look at Clare who had dropped a pile of beras on the table.

"I leave these with you two for now. You can spend it on whatever you like while I'm gone." She stated. Eli looked to the beras then to Raki as he stood up.

"So how long do you think you'll be hunting voracious eaters?" He asked.

"All things considered we'll probably be done in one week's time." She answered.

Raki then took three beras and held them in his hand. "Well in that case I'll just take these three. Okay? This should be all I need for a week right? So you'll be back soon? In one week?"

Clare stared at him before reaching out with her fist and tapping his head. "That's correct. You need to stop worrying so much, both of you." She added casting a gaze at Eli. "I will be just fine. And when I tell you something I need you both to trust me understood?" Raki nodded as Eli grunted, with that Clare walked out to meet her fellow warriors.

Raki watched the door for a moment after Clare left before hearing more clanking and turning around to see Eli grab a handful of beras and stuff them into his trench coat.

Raki reached out. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"Who me? Just helping myself a little." Eli replied as Raki stomped over in front of him.

"And what do you need those for?" he interrogated.

"Stuff and things." Eli replied, now a little annoyed.

"Like what 'stuff' and what 'things'?" Raki prodded.

"Stuff and things that a little kid like yourself doesn't need to concern himself with." Eli shot back.

Raki huffed and turned away from him. "I don't even know why Clare puts up with you." He sighed.

Eli walked past him and opened the door. "I could be awhile, don't wait up." Raki sighed again before Eli caught the door as he was leaving and poked his head back in. "Oh, yeah and one more thing. You know how strong Clare is right? So don't dwell too much on Clare being forty-seven, she doesn't, so why should you?" with that Eli closed the door with a clank.

Raki was slightly stunned from his words before a small smile creeped on his lips. _"Yeah."_

* * *

><p>The rain was still pouring hard as Clare met her "comrades" under the archway leading to the mountains.<p>

"What a surprise you kept us waiting again." Helen remarked snidely.

"Let's move." Miria ordered as the three turned around from Clare and walked on.

The rain was still coming down as the four made their way through the mountain. There was a long silence before Helen decided to break it. "You've been awfully quiet today Clare. What's wrong? Can't function without your boy to keep you warm?" she goaded.

Clare glared at Helen before grabbing the handle of her sword; Deneve walked up and placed her hand on her arm. "Let it go. You'd be wasting your time, besides we're all aware that you're surprisingly weaker than the rest of us. Save it." She lectured.

"Smart advice." Helen added smugly.

"Helen and Deneve, stop." Miria barked back to them from the front. "Our success on this mission depends on how well we work as a team, each member is crucial to our survival."

"Oh, come on are you kidding me?" Helen protested. "She's got the lowest ranking, the absolute lowest! It's embarrassing."

"Exactly." Miria said. "It's rare for a warrior even in the thirties to be assigned to go after a voracious eater."

"Luckily we got a forty-seven with us." Helen said rolling her eyes. "I mean what the hell was the Organization thinking?"

"Our superiors decided." Miria snapped. "It's not our place to question them and we won't start now."

"Yes ma'am." Helen sighed complying. "I just hope she doesn't get in the way." She said stepping past Clare as Deneve followed close behind, and Clare at the end as they continued to walk through the rain.

The four stopped at a cave as the rain continued to come down. Miria placed her claymore in the ground as she turned to address her team. "We'll set up camp here for tonight, we should be well within range of our target tomorrow."

"Okay." Helen replied taking off her pauldrons and stretching as she shook the weariness of the day's walk from herself. "Anyone else dying for some dinner?" she asked. "I guess I'll go and try to find something to eat."

"It's amazing." Deneve observed. "I don't think I know anybody who eats as much as you."

"When you got as much yoki as I do you got to keep eating." Helen countered. "Need anything?"

"I'm not hungry." she replied as she sat down on the cave floor up against a wall. "I'm going to rest for a while."

"Well, suit yourself then." Helen said turning for the cave entrance.

Clare was staring at the floor lost in thought before out of the corner of her eye she saw her Claymore being tossed at her as Clare caught it. Clare looked to see who threw it to her and saw Miria standing at the mouth of the cave. "I'd like to see you outside please. It'll only take a minute." She requested.

Clare stood up and followed Miria outside as Helen and Deneve watched with some interest.

The rain was still pouring hard as Clare and Miria stood some meters away from each other. "I challenge you to a sparring match." Miria declared. "I just wanna get a feel for everyone's capabilities."

"Is my forty-seventh ranking within the Organization not good enough proof?" Clare asked stoically.

"To be honest, with you I'm having a hard time believing that's your rank." Miria replied. "It doesn't mesh with my initial impression of your skill level. When I first saw you I thought I was looking at the most powerful being I'd ever met." She continued gripping her claymore. "So now, we'll see. Here goes."

Miria charged with a blow and a follow up strike as Clare parried both, beginning her counter attack Clare began to thrust her sword at Miria as she dogged each thrust. Mira stuck back as Clare blocked, Clare charged her again with two upward swings, Miria evaded them both. They continued the swings and block to each other as their blades classed in the downpour. Each gaining speed as they fought for advantage.

Deneve watched from the side with intent observation before Helen came over to the wall outside the cave and leaned on it next to Deneve. "So, they're really going at it. " Helen observed biting into an apple and offering one to Deneve. "Want some?"

"No thanks." she replied not taking her eyes off the match. Clare and Miria continued their struggle each putting in an ounce more effort with each blow. "Wow. She's really quite amazing. Huh?" Helen observed.

"You're right I can't believe how amazing she is." Deneve agreed. "I've never seen anyone so amazingly bad." At that moment Miria knocked Clare's claymore out of her hands as Clare gasped and watched the blade land some feet away from her in the ground.

Clare was huffing for breath as Miria closed her eyes. "I've seen enough. Go and get some rest now, you'll need to recover your strength for tomorrow." She said turning into the cave and walking in. Clare fell to her knees in exhaustion.

Miria passed Helen and Deneve. "So what are we going to do now Miria? It really doesn't look like she's going to be much help to us tomorrow. In fact it's going to take a miracle for her to survive just the first encounter." Helen pointed out.

"It's glaringly obvious that we're going to be doing all the fighting tomorrow, you know that right?" Deneve agreed. "Do you really want to take a chance on such an important mission?"

Miria replied without turning to them. "I thought I made myself clear on this subject. Our superiors made the call and we're going to follow orders, that's it." With that she continued into the cave.

"Talk about carrying excess baggage, what a pain in the ass." Helen remarked before they heard a splashing in the water and turned back to Clare to see she had fallen face down into the ground and was unmoving. "Oh well, I've seen enough. Even if she were to die of exposure tonight it wouldn't make a difference to the job."

Clare remained unmoving in the water as she remained unconscious. Some hundred meters away, Eli lay in the crock of a high branch in a tree looking down on the cave having watched the whole match. _"Clare. You're not ready to use that technique, you need more time."_ He then looked out in the direction of the town. _"Hnn, I guess it's about time to blind the 'eye'."_

* * *

><p>Clare dreamed of Teresa and of her fighting technique. How strong, graceful, and swift she was. <em>"Teresa…"<em> Clare thought before she was woken up by the sound of her claymore being rammed into the ground mere inches from her. It was morning and the endless rain had finally ceased as the sun shone in the sky.

"Ohhh, what do you know it's still alive." Helen sneered as the three claymores stood apat from her already to move out.

"Look at that, she was knocked out the entire night." Deneve observed.

"How pathetic." Helen scoffed.

"We're leaving so stand up and get yourself together.' Miria ordered.

Clare picked herself from the ground. "We're going to go ahead and take off you might want to stay here if you value living, see you around." Helen said before turning with Miria and Deneve and walking away, leaving Clare behind.

The three walked ahead as Clare followed a few paces behind. The group kept walking until they came to a pass in the mountains overlooking a river far below as they walked along a cliff-side. Helen looked behind her and scowled. "Ugh, great. I don't know why she didn't just stay behind." She turned to Miria. "Come on! You're not really going to let her fight, it would be like sentencing her to death!"

"I don't appreciate repeating myself." Miria replied annoyed. "Our orders still stand." Helen sighed again.

The four kept walking along the pass until evening had set in. Then a man in the distance started walking towards them. "Hey!" he called out and waved, the group stopped. "Over here! How you doing ladies?" he called out. He was an unremarkable man who looked like he had been recently been hiking through the pass. "We've been waiting for you Claymores for quite some time."

"Who the hell is that guy?" Helen whispered to Miria who had not taken he eyes off the man.

"I've traveled from the town of Lido, we're the ones who asked you all to come out here." He continued still walking towards them, before stopping in front of the four. "I tell ya, it really great to see that you all made the journey out here so quickly. You Claymores want to follow me, I'll show you which direction you need to go."

Miria's eyes widened as she swung out at the man, Deneve and Helen gasped as the man transformed and moved with incredible speed up the side of the ravine. Mir's shoulder burst into blood as she took a knee to steady herself.

"Miria!" Deneve called out in alarm.

"Damn it." Miria whispered under her breath. "The Organization gave us wrong information, we were told that we would be battling just a normal voracious eater. Not something like that!" she said as the man continued to transform growing bigger and more monster-like. "Do they really expect the four of us to take on something of this magnitude? "

Deneve looked up as she too watched the being transform. "What is it?"

"Oh no, you have got to be kidding me." Helen uttered in disbelief. "A male awakened being?" The monster had fully transformed being over ten feet-tall, with scaly gray-brown flash and six-arms, with pointed ears and a long lashing tongue.

_Miles Away, just outside Mount Paburo…_

Ermita was sitting down on a small boulder looking towards the mountain. Never taking his eyes off it, not even when approached from behind.

"Ahh… I see you made it Galatea." He stated not turning around to face her.

"What is it Ermita? Why have we stopped here?" Said Galatea as she walked and stopped to stand next to him.

Ermita motioned towards the mountain with a nod. "Feel that mountain, I'm sure you can sense the awakened being's yoki without any difficulty."

_Back on Paburo mountain…_

"But how? How could there possibly be a male awakened being?" Helen asked looking on at the fearsome beast in horror. The awakened being shifted in place. "Here it comes."

The warriors braced themselves as they prepared for the yoma's onslaught. The awakened being lashed out with its tongue. "Watch yourselves!" Miria warned as the yoma's long whip-like tongue cut through Deneve's arm with ease.

Deneve was unable to move as she fell back from the cliff and landed in the river below. "Deneve!" Helen called out to the fallen warrior.

The yoma retracted it's tongue as he brought her arm to his mouth and chewed on it before spitting it out. **"That tasted foul."** He remarked.

Helen gritted her teeth and ran up the wall and cut at the yoma but only smashed rock as his giant form vanished. Miria widened her eyes. "Helen! Above you!" she called out. Helen looked up as she saw the monster father up on the wall before climbing quickly down using all his limbs for movement. "He's too fast, get out now!" Miria ordered.

Helen obeyed and jumped down to the cliffside as the awakened being followed closely after landing next to her. "Behind you!" Miria warned. Helen turned around and quickly dodged out of the way of the incoming attack, before he quickly followed up by lashing out with his tongue.

Helen braced herself for the blow before the was a flash of grey as Clare jumped in front of Helen and blocked the tongue, the slimy appendage wrapping itself around her blade. "Just step back forty-seven!" Helen barked. The awakened being then lashed his tongue around Clare and threw her into the wall, cracking the stone with the force of the throw.

"Clare is down!" Miria shouted.

"Damn! Stupid idiot!" Helen chastised. "She has no skills but decides to but in anyway!" Helen grunted as her body and face contorted, the her veins becoming visible as her yoki spiked and her eyes turned gold, Her arms extended and whipped around towards the awakened being "That's too many arms, it's really quite disgusting! But don't worry I'll take care of it for you!" she said before cleaving three of the being's arms off with one swing, stepping around to the front of the yoma with her back turned as her hits landed. It was too little avail though as the being connected with its cut arms before they hit the ground.

The awakened being retaliated as he stretched his arms to attack Helen as he back turned to face him. _"Damn…"_ Helen thought as she once again braced herself for the impact of his claws.

Just when Helen thought she was about to be pierced, a cry came from above as two of the being's right arms were lopped off before the assailant landed on the ground in front of Helen. It was Deneve.

"You're still alive!" Miria exclaimed with elation at the fact of the warrior's current status. Deneve's left arm was still regenerating as the bone and muscle fibers quickly regenerated.

"I hope you're rotten flesh is burning!" Helen barked as her eyes glowed gold with yoki and rage.

Miria gazed at the form of Deneve is disbelief. _"I thought she was dead! Her rate of regeneration is unbelievable! I can't believe her entire arm is almost regrown!"_She then looked towards Helen. _Helen's ability to lengthen her arms is a very advanced technique. No, looking at the design of her armor I'm willing to bet her legs have the same attributes. Both of their abilities would normally push a warrior to the limit of their yoki powers, but these two do it as if it's second nature to them. I hope it's enough to defeat this creature."_

Clare picked herself from the rubble she was buried under, Helen looked over to her with a sneer. "Oh great, so you're still here? Do us all a favor and run while you're still alive, there's no place for you in this fight." Helen then returned her attention to the being, watching as it regenerated it's arms from scratch. "We're gonna have to take his head, we could hack away at his arms all day and it wouldn't make any difference." She observed.

* * *

><p><em>Outside the mountain…<em>

* * *

><p>"Tell me. What are you sensing?" Ermita asked.<p>

"I'm picking up yoki auras, no of whom, might I add are the one we're looking for." Galatea reminded.

"Humor me, then. Tell me what you sense." Ermita replied.

"Fine. One is powerful, two are average, and one is very small and insignificant, and the last one remaining is enormous, easily surpassing the others." She informed.

"That's our awakened being." Ermita commented gazing at the mountain.

"Awakened being?" Galatea asked.

"Actually it is a male awakened being, Galatea." Ermita informed.

Galatea shifted her feet. "Did you say a male?"

* * *

><p><em>On Paburo mountain…<em>

* * *

><p>How can we be dealing with a male awakened being?" Helen asked voicing the question they were all wondering to themselves. "I thought they could only be female fighters who happened to surpass their yoki limit." Helen then charged the being and brought down her sword only to once again cut rock as the being jumped out of harm's way. Miria followed up and slashed down at the beast, but once again it vanished leaving her to only slice air.<p>

"The Organization is to be blamed for these monsters." Miria explained. "In the beginning they made male warriors."

"I've never heard that." Helen said slightly turning her head to face Miria.

"**Claymores…"**the being breathed, eyeing the warriors with his large golden eyes.

"Yes…" Ermita confirmed. "When they first began making warriors, they were both male and female. But over time the males proved to be complete failures." Ermita paused considering his own words. "That is incorrect. Our warriors were not failures at all, in fact quite the opposite, the males were very valuable assets to us."

Deneve swung at the being and like Helen only managed to cut through rock. "When it came to fighting they were unmatched. But fighting wasn't the problem. The real issue is that every last one of them reached their limits far too quickly. You see awakening is very similar to sexual pleasure. The more the males released their yoki, the harder it became to suppress the overwhelming urge to awaken." Galatea listened while still sensing the fight between the awakened being and warriors rage on. "Unfortunately there was no choice but to stop the production of male warriors."

Let me guess." Galatea intervened. "There was nothing left for the awakened being to do but to roam the land as 'voracious eaters'."

"Precisely." Ermita confirmed.

"And since the male warriors were bound to awaken they only made females after that." Miria stated finishing her explanation. "I can't believe that none of you have ever been briefed on this information."

"**Hehehehehe." **The being chuckled. **"Not bad. But there's one part of the story that you neglected to cover."**

"I left something out?" Miria asked.

"**Indeed."** The being replied. **"And frankly, I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet. Being as clever as you are. You still haven't figured out why you specifically were sent to hunt me down."**

Miria's eyes widened as she looked back to her fellow warriors. _"Were we all chosen for a reason?"_

"**Hehehehehe." **He chuckled once more. **"Seems like there's something bothering you."**

"You bastard!" Miria shouted.

Galatea shifted her head as she looked towards the mountain.

"Is something wrong?" Ermita asked.

"I sense an uneasiness and surprise in the auras." Galatea informed. "Perhaps we should move closer. It's hard for me to judge the situation clearly from this distance."

"We can't." Ermita replied. "If we move any closer, then they'll know we've been watching them. You're one of the only ones I know of who could sense yoki from this distance."

"It doesn't seem right somehow." Galatea commented puzzled.

The being sighed. **"Alright then, I believe now is as good a time as any."** He looked up at the four. **"I think you need a taste of the pain true despair can bring you." **

The warriors gripped their blade tightly as they prepared for another assault. The being then was gone in a flash as Miria gasped. "All of you stay back!" she ordered. The being then appeared in front of Deneve piercing her stomach."ENOUGH!" Miria cried swinging her blade at the beast. He dodged jumping into the air and quickly extending his fingers and piercing Clare, who coughed up blood at the stroke.

"Bastard!" Helen cried swinging her arm out to the being only for him to disappear again and reappear behind her, slashing Helen's back. Miria stared dumbfounded as she looked to the fallen three warriors.

"**True despair, as promised."** He said with a smirk. **"Well? What do you think?"**

Damn you." Miria muttered under her breath. "This must stop. It has to!"

"**You know, it's really too bad."** The being mused. **"I'm sure that you're one of the very best Claymores. You are perceptive, clever. But a good warrior needs more than strength. In order to thrive you must be intelligent and resourceful. But then again a warrior can be too clever, and if you're not careful it can also get you killed." **

"What are you?" Miria questioned. "When were you a warrior?"

"**I am exactly as you said I was."** He replied. **"I am a monster formed from a male Claymore years ago, that's all. Nothing more, nothing less. I kill all the warriors who are delivered to me, of course not without a fight. I simply do what I must in order to survive."**

Miria's gaze tightened. "I will do what I must as well.

* * *

><p><em>Back in town…<em>

* * *

><p>Raki stared up to the mountains from his window. Behind him a door opened as a servant came with a tray of food.<p>

"Excuse me, here's your meal." Said placing it down on the table. "Please enjoy." He then paused. "So tell me what happened to those friends of yours?"

"Oh, well Eli's gone off somewhere and Clare had to do some job up on the mountain." Raki informed.

The servant gasped slightly. "Up on the mountain? I'm sorry son. There was a group of Claymores that had to do something up there a little while ago, but unfortunately they never came back down. No one has heard any word about them since." Raki face then shifted to one of concern and the servant corrected himself waving a hand. "Oh, but I'm sure she's okay. Please make yourself at home." With that he turned and left closing the door behind him. Raki turned his gaze back to the mountain.

"_Clare…"_

* * *

><p>Miria shifted and vanished moving with swiftness, picking up Deneve and setting her against the wall. The being widened his eyes at her sudden burst in speed. Miria observed Deneve's wound. <em>"Her stomach is beginning to regenerate, but the wound is very deep. Her chances of survival are uncertain at this point. Looks like I'm on my own."<em>

"**Hahahahaha." **The being chuckled. **"Is this really the time to be concerning yourself with their safety? It seems to be a much more practical to give me a little bit of a fight before I rip you limb from limb!" **he roared as he extended his fingers through Miria only to find that he the form he had hit was nothing more that air.

Miria then reappeared and walked to the fallen form of Clare. Upon closer inspection Miria saw that she was still breathing. "She alive!" Miria said, astonished.

The being then pounced towards Miria. **"I will end your existence!" **Extending his fingers through her body again only for him to once again only pierce the air. **"An illusion?"**

Miria reappeared next to Deneve holding both Clare and Helen under her arms. The being turned around and saw Miria tending to the three as she laid them side by side. Helen cried out in pain as she felt her wounds throb. "_Her back is badly damaged. Her chance of survival is minimal." _Miria observed grimly. _"In this condition, she's not going to be much help in this battle."_

"**Hehehehe."** The being chuckled again. **"Now I get it, very good. You can only do it for a moment but you're capable of incredible speed. I'm willing to bet that you're one of the fastest warriors in the Organization, very impressive Claymore. Seems you've certainly earned you're single digit ranking. To the naked eye the effect looks like a ghost, which must be why they gave you that name. I believe it was Phantom Miria?"** Miria glared at the beast as he continued. **"It is a great technique, the question is how long will it work against me, Claymore?"** Miria said nothing as she released her yoki and her eyes became a gleaming gold. **"Hahaha. Let's find out together."** Miria charged him as the being just observed amused by her sudden change. **"Oh my, are you mad? Charging into your honorable death? How heroic."**

Miria began to use her technique as she appeared and disappeared, steadily getting closer and closing the distance between her and hm. She then jumped and thrust her claymore at him, he blocked with one of his hands as the thrust deep into his arm. He then pierced her with his claws only for her form to melt away, appearing behind him and slashing him. He thrust with his arm towards her only for her to side-step his form and slash at his side. **"AAH! You bitch!"** he roared.

Helen slowly sat up couching up some blood as she tried to observe the battle. "Damn her. She good." Helen commented to Clare who had also sat up to watch the fight. "I don't get it, if she could do that all along, why did she wait until now to pull it out?"

"More than likely her strategy was to save that move and use it as a finishing blow ion him." Clare replied weakly. "However, she didn't intend to use it so soon."

"Huh?" Helen said not actually expecting an answer to her question.

"You see," Clare went on. "producing that much yoki all at once is amazing, but a technique like that is bound to take a great toll on her both physically and mentally." Helen looked to Clare now understanding Miria's original intent, the battle raged on as Miria continued to use her technique. "If I were her, I would limit myself as to how many times I use the technique, maybe ten times or twenty, but that's the maximum amount for any battle. Unfortunately in this current one she's used it over thirty times now. I would be surprised if she didn't awaken very soon."

Helen sneered at her once more. "Oh what the hell would you know anyway? I'm not going to sit here and listen to the lowest ranked warrior." There was a rumble as the fight seemed to cease for a moment.

The being loomed over the ground with his hand extended towards a dust cloud formed from the previous impact against the stone. **"I got you."** He said in a mocking voice. Miria struggled under the being grasp as he pinned her to the ground.

"Miria!" Helen called out.

"**It was impressive how long you lasted, but in the end it was a wasted effort.** He mocked. **"All I had to do was wait until you reached your limit, and then move in for the kill!"**He extended his tongue out and lapped it across the side of her face and Miria continued to struggle under his grasp. **"Now then I have the joy of deciding how I'm going to torture you to death."** Miria widened her eyes, then the being lashed out his tongue and pierced her body with it, Miria cried out loudly in pain, the being then moved around the slimy appendage inside her body, accentuating the pain she was already feeling. Miria couched up blood as her organs were tampered with, the beast crackling with laughter all the while.

Helen couldn't watch anymore as she struggled to get up. Only for her back wounds to reopen. "Damn it!" she cursed, falling to the ground on her hands and knees. Deneve remained unconscious while her body tried to mend itself. "It's no use, I can't… I can't make my body move!" she cried as her blood dripped to the ground, and she clenched her fists. "This is it! I now know what he meant! He promised that he was going to give us true despair and he has!"

Clare gripped her claymore before carefully standing up. "Pull it together." Clare muttered, walking past Helen as she looked up to watch her walk toward the fight. "Despair will get us killed, this battle has gone on long enough. This awakened being is powerful but it will not leave her alive."

Miria looked weakly to the side as Clare walked towards her and the being. "Wait you're still hurt!" Helen said in disbelief at the supposed "weakest" Claymore. "You can't…"Clare ignored her and walked forward towards the beast. "Im-impossible… how can you still be standing after all your injuries?"

The being turned its gaze to Clare with little interest. **"Huh, I wondered what that noise was. It looks like the weakest one still wants to play with me!"** He extended his fingers towards Clare only to barly miss by inches as the claws pierced the ground behind her. Miria and Helen gasped as they saw this and Clare kept walking her face serene and calm. **"What happened?" **the being asked before extending another set of fingers at Clare, only to once again miss by mere inches. **"What? No!"** he roared as he extended more and more fingers only to be met with the same results.

Helen gasped as she couldn't believe her eyes. "What's going on? She's avoiding all of his attacks!"

Miria also stared in disbelief. _"How is she doing that?"_

Clare walked forward steadily and carefully. _"Stay calm. Hold back your yoki as much as you can. Be aware of its flow and its limits. Focusing it will allow you the greatest perception. That's it. Keep your eye on the yoki. Just stay calm and focused. You can easily predict his next move… and here it comes."_

The being sent another piercing finger towards her only for Clare to slightly sidestep, causing it to miss once again. "She's dodging!" Helen observed. "But she's doing it before he can even make his move, it's like she know what he's going to do."

Miria's eyes widened once more. _"That's it!"_ Miria thought thinking back to when she first saw Clare. _"I didn't realize it before. When we were fighting she wasn't looking at me, she was watching my yoki! Even in that sparing match when we were both holding back. She was still looking for whatever yoki flow I was maintaining."_ Miria thought as she watched Clare continue to dodge his attacks.

"**Come on! Die! Die damn you!"** the being shouted trying still in vain to hit her.

Miria continued her thought. _"When she's facing an opponent who's more powerful than her, it becomes much easier for her to follow their yoki. And versus this awakened being, who has no trouble releasing the full might of his abilities, she is the ideal fighter." _Miria then widened her eyes again at another realization. _"it can't be! Is it possible? Did she develop this technique with the sole purpose of defeating awakened beings?"_

* * *

><p>Galatea gasped.<p>

"What is it?" Ermita asked.

"Something's changed. Interesting." Galatea observed.

"Is that so?" Ermita replied.

* * *

><p>Clare stood right before the awakened being as he attempted to reach for her, Clare dodged slicing off his arm. She then followed up as the being attempted to stab with his fingers and tongue only for her to cut through both and land on the beast's back. Then relieving him of four of his arms. To strike the finishing blow Clare brought down her claymore on his neck only to find it armored. He knocked her off his back with his remaining arm, and then punched her into the wall. <strong>"I don't understand why… but it's impossible to gauge how powerful you are." <strong>The being observed.

"That's because she moves based the yoki she's tracking." Miria explained, now standing and clutching her stomach where she had been pierced. "The problem is she can't see it as well when she attacks. She should practice switching between modes. Either that or learn to read yoki while attacking. Otherwise no matter how great the technique may be… it's useless on the battlefield. You're doing well, but you would benefit from much more training. "

"Yes…that is obvious." Clare noted. "Painfully obvious."

The being then reassessed his current situation. **"Wait, wait a minute."** He said looking between the two warriors. **"Let's be reasonable. I'll tell you anything you want to know I swear it!"**

"Careful he's preparing for an attack." Clare warned. The being snarled at her.

"I know that. "Miria replied. "I am in the single digits after all." Her body faded away as claws pierced from the ground Clare sidestepped and dogged easily. "It's sad." Miria commented. "For all the questions I would like to ask you, but I doubt you would tell me the truth." Clare and Miria gripped their swords tight as they prepared for the final blow. "Here we go. Stay quick and focused."

"The same to you."Clare replied.

The being extended his fingers out for one last attack only for him to miss both targets as they move closer for the kill. **"Damn it! This can't happen I will not be destroyed by you!"** he roared. Clare and Miria met in the air as the two of them brought down their blows landing on either side of the beast. **"Impossible… you're nothing." **His upper torso exploding in purple blood as he was finally slain.

Helen was astonished as she stood up slowly, still in pain. "They got him… I can't believe they did it."

Clare winced as exhaustion finally set in, falling to the ground. Miria held her stomach the wound not quite fully healed. 'We won… but we paid a great price for it." She observed.

* * *

><p>"They've killed the awakened being." Galatea said astonished at the feat.<p>

"Are you sure?" Ermita asked.

"Yes." Galatea then peered down on Ermita. "I thought that's what you wanted."

"Of course, I was just taken by surprise." Ermita replied. "You see that creature was a very powerful awakened being. I didn't think they'd be able to kill it so quickly."

"That's good isn't it? They accomplished their mission." Galatea reminded.

"Yes. Did they all survive?" he asked.

Galatea concentrated. "I sense three, if the fourth made it she's very weak. Too weak for me to read anyway."

"They only lost one? That's impressive." Ermita noted. "Keep an eye on them for a bit longer."

"They killed him. Is it really important to know what they look like afterwards?" Galatea asked.

"Think of it as an old man concerned for his children." Ermita replied.

"All right then." Galatea complied.

* * *

><p>The three standing warriors all crowded around Deneve. "How is she?" Helen asked.<p>

Miria got up after examining her. "Not well I'm afraid. She used so much yoki to regenerate her arm that she can't treat her other injuries. The rest of her wounds will just have to heal on their own."

"Damn it." Helen cursed before looking over to Clare. "And what about you? Are you okay? I mean you were taking the most damage."

Miria replied for Clare. "She was struck the most but was quick enough not to be hit in vital areas." Helen was surprised at this. "This allowed her to limit her injuries to places that heal quickly."

"But how?" Helen asked, remembering the battle. "How could you control something like that in the middle of a fight?"

Miria turned to Clare and Helen. "I've been meaning to ask you something for a while now."

"Ask us what?" Helen wondered aloud.

"I know this might be hard to answer. But, have you ever reached the point where you almost awakened? " Miria asked, both Clare and Helen paused at this. "I understand if you're hesitant to tell anyone, however I need you to be as honest as you possibly can."

Helen turned from Miria to Clare. "Okay yes. I have." Clare replied. "When I found myself losing a fight. I accidentally unleashed my yoki, and I guess I misjudged myself." She finished thinking back to the event n Rabona.

"But awakening is not only painful, it can also be quite pleasurable. Mira noted. "The ecstasy is so great most can't resist."

"Right." Clare agreed. "I felt it and I can't believe I made it back."

Helen looked down to the ground almost shamefully. "Okay, I've done it too. I went to far and misjudged my limit. Turns out I was just like the men. Felt like I couldn't resist no matter how hard I tried."

"But you did resist it." Miria countered.

"Yeah, I can't quite remember how, but I turned back just in time." Helen looked to Deneve. "Deneve has been through it as well." She informed. "But in her case, she chose to test the limits of her powers."

"Have you known Deneve for a long time?" Miria asked.

"Oh yeah, we were both in the same class." Helen replied.

"And tell me," Miria said turning from Deneve to Helen and Clare. "have either of you had reputations of being troublemakers with civilians, or those who employ your services?"

Helen sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "Well you've seen my temper in action haven't you? I might have been in… a couple unnecessary fights."

"And Deneve?" Miria asked.

"Miss perfect? She's way too professional to cause that kind of trouble." Helen replied, looking over to her friend. "Although she's had quite a few run-ins with fellow warriors."

"That's what I thought." Miria said turning back to Clare. "And I've noticed our lowest-ranking member has difficulty following the orders she is given. Do you see the pattern here? All of us are troublemakers who have nearly awakened."

"Right. So what are you getting at?" Helen asked.

"It just seems a bit too coincidental for me." Miria stated. "I mean a bunch of miscreants get the wrong information and then end up having to fight a male awakened being together?"

Clare nodded as she put the pieces together. "Wait what are you saying!?" Helen asked now alarmed. "The Organization is out to get us or something?"

"I'm only theorizing Helen." Miria replied calmly.

"What about you?" Clare asked Miria who turned to face her. "I can't see you giving in, and have an even harder time thinking of you as a troublemaker."

"Very few people know this," Miria started. "but I did almost awaken." Clare and Helen gasped at this as Miria walked towards the cliff side, staring into the sky beyond the mountains. "I nearly lost myself over that edge."

"Are you serious?" Helen asked in disbelief.

"It happened on my third hunt pursuing an awakened being…" Miria started. "I killed it but unfortunately the monster turned out to be an old friend of mine." Miria closed her eyes as she thought back to that day, hunting the beast down and then proceeding to hack it appendages off one by one. Just as she was about to deliver the killing blow, the monster's face transformed back into that of her old friend, Hilda. Miria dropped her blade as the realization of the situation began to hit her. The other warriors on the hunt gathered around her, expressing their condolences, except for one. "I wouldn't think too much about it. She lost her humanity a long time ago." The cool and callous voice cut in. Miria couldn't take it as she released her yoki in her grief her physical characteristics becoming more monstrous. "She's losing control of her yoki!" one of the warriors shouted. "Well now looks like Phantom Miria is awakening." The cool voice sounded again. "I hear that when she's fighting on a team she's even better than number one. Oh, how I'd love to get a crack at her." Miria's yoki continued to spiral out of control as the cool voice egged on almost in anticipation. The cool voice belonged to a warrior with pale, silvery blond hair, worn in a long plait. "Come on dear. Don't you think you're taking a little too much time with this?" Miria eyed the owner of the cruel voice before screaming with agony and grief.

Miria then opened her eyes from the memory, grimacing at its remembrance.

"But you're here now." Helen said trying to assure her. "So you obviously managed to control yourself."

"I knew that I'd gone beyond my limit, but I fought with all I had to maintain control." Miria replied. "Mainly, I was too proud to give in to her taunting and I couldn't let her win."

"Wait. Who?" Clare asked.

"Hmph. Never mind, it doesn't matter." She replied dismissing the question. "What is important was that was the moment I decided I was going to have my revenge against the Organization."

Helen and Clare were stunned by her statement. "What?" Clare asked slowly.

"They turn us into these creatures, then dispose of us as if we were garbage. Well, that was the last straw, I couldn't go along with it anymore." Miria replied.

"But how could you possibly expect to get any kind of vengeance?" Helen asked.

"I'm constantly searching for ways to exploit the cracks in their foundation. While maintaining my 'loyal' image." Miria explained.

"And have you found anything on the yet?" Helen prodded.

"Unfortunately, I haven't." Miria replied. "But I figure I must be close to something now."

"Makes sense." Clare agreed. "and now that you've become a nuisance they want to get rid of you."

"As I've said before this is only a theory." Miria reiterated. "I really don't know anything for certain."

Clare spoke up after a moment of consideration. "Okay, now let me ask you something. Because we got so close, because we were almost awaken could it have changed something in us?"

"You wouldn't be asking that if you didn't already have some idea of the truth, would you?" Miria asked back."How could you doubt it? Look at your yoki, it's obviously changed since before you came close to awakening. For one thing your limitations are no longer certain. And I'm willing to bet you're sometimes overcome by intense hunger. Am I correct?" Helen and Clare were silent. "Isn't it obvious by now? We are already awakened beings."

"What?" Helen asked.

"What are you saying?" Clare piled on. "That we've already turned?"

* * *

><p>Galatea widened her eyes as she sense something, Ermita took notice. "Something wrong?"<p>

"Their yokis are disturbed." She replied. "I'm not sure, but I believe the one with the strongest yoki said something to upset the others. And now she's arguing with the one whose yoki's in the middle, the one with the weakest yoki doesn't seem to be bothered at all… wait."

"Hmm?"

"No, she's just as disturbed as the others. But she's trying her best not to let them know it." Galatea further examined the situation. "Oh, I see something happened n her past that caused her to shut down emotionally."

Ermita looked over to Galatea. _"Amazing I had no idea she could read so much detail from this distance."_

* * *

><p>"Okay this has gone too far!" Helen objected. "I know myself and I'm not a monster! I don't know about you but I am nothing like that creature and I certainly don't have a desire to eat human flesh! I have nothing in common with that thing you hear me!?"<p>

"Well let me put it another way." Miria said calmly. "I don't think we're completely awakened but somewhere in between. I think that what we are is half awakened beings."

"Is… that possible?" Helen asked.

"Most reach the breaking point and awaken suddenly." Miria explained. "But somehow we got stuck in the middle, or it's possible we're still awakening but doing it very slowly."

"But that can't be right." Helen said softly.

"Isn't it true that your ability to stretch your arms was much harder before you nearly awakened and doesn't it require far less effort from you now?" Miria asked. "And think about Deneve's healing powers., any other healer would be pushing their limits if they attempted what Deneve does. We have been going past our limitations and then immediately snapping back. That was impossible before."

Helen and Clare remained silent. "It makes sense." A voice said weakly from behind, causing the three warriors to look to Deneve who was still weak and clutching her stomach, but conscious. "It matches up what I've been going through."

"You're awake." Helen observed.

"So, let's assume for the moment that we are half awakened, what's that supposed to mean and do we have a choice in the matter? Are we supposed to sit around and become some hideous monster and not do anything about it?" She asked, Helen and Clare turning to Miria also waiting for an answer.

"I wish I knew what to tell you but I don't know what will happen next." Miria replied honestly. "The fact of the matter is we have no idea when or how we'll turn and that, as you can imagine, puts us in a very dangerous position."

There was silence before Deneve spoke up again. "All right then, fine. I guess there's nothing to lose." With that Deneve began to release her yoki as bright blue light flowed forth from her body.

"Deneve what you are trying to do!?" Helen shouted.

"Shut up and listen to me." Deneve barked. "I don't have any choice if I try to regenerate in the normal limits I'm going to die. So I'm going to try and push my yoki aura as far as possible and hopefully I can heal everything now." She grunted as the hole in her stomach closed up quickly.

"This is too risky Deneve!" Helen yelled. "What if you go too far and awaken?"

"If what Miria's saying is correct then we've gone past our limit a long time ago!" Deneve shouted back. "I'm guessing that even if we push our power to the point of awakening, then we should be able to revert back!" she grunted again as her wounds began to heal. "But remember, if I do become an awakened being, you have to kill me as quickly as you can!"

"No!" Miria shouted. Helen and Clare drew their swords. "Helen! Clare!"

"I promise you my friend. I'll make sure you don't suffer." Helen resolved.

"Don't worry. We won't let you down Deneve." Clare agreed.

Deneve continued to contort as Clare and Helen readied their weapons.

* * *

><p>Galatea turned her head slightly. "I sense that one has awakened."<p>

"What's that?" Ermita asked.

"For some strange reason she did it voluntarily." She continued. "why would she do that?"

"Likely the injuries she suffered were so great they caused her to misjudge her limit." He replied. "So sad."

"And you're fine with that?" Galatea questioned. "I thought you said you look on them as an old man to his children."

"Ha! Indeed, more like grandchildren really." Ermita replied.

"Hmph. Fine, anyways it's not our problem right? Let's hurry to find that roaming yoki." Galatea said.

"Oh, no. That's no longer necessary." Ermita replied.

"Why is that?" she asked.

"Because you have already found it." He replied. Galatea tensed as she suddenly felt a tense yoki around her coming from Ermita, but his form had shifted, no longer with the black robes of Ermita but a form like a phantom, shadowy cloaked and hooded, the face obscured from view.

Galatea reached for her claymore but found her body suddenly growing heavier as the environment around her began to blur and mist, she fell on her hands and knees as her own weight felt like it was crushing her. Finally she fell chest-down on the ground as the figure walked over to her bending down to whisper into her ear. "Let's you and me have a little talk, yeah?"

* * *

><p>Helen, Miria and Clare stood around Deneve who was now back to normal and fully healed. Their swords inches away from Deneve's neck, just in case she hadn't made it. "How 'bout that? Looks like it worked huh?"<p>

Helen took a deep sigh, "Thank god." She said picking her claymore from the ground as Clare followed suit.

"Happy now? That was reckless." Miria commented.

"How are your wounds doing? Have they healed?" Helen asked.

Deneve looked down at her body. "Yeah, they're all closed up and back to normal."

"You know that may not happen next time." Miria reminded. "If you want to continue as a human, it would be best not to take any unnecessary chances."

"I realize that." She replied. "Trust me. The last thing I want to do is walk that razor's edge again."

Clare was sheathing her blade when she looked towards the outskirts of the mountain.

Miria took notice. "Clare what is it?"

"I have the strangest feeling we're being watched." She replied.

"Not likely." Miria countered. "I already probed this area, and we're the only people in this entire mountain range. As for anyone beyond these mountains, they'd have a difficult time detecting us from that distance."

Clare relaxed. "Imagining things I guess."

* * *

><p>The Phantom shot his head up looking towards the mountains. "Not bad, Clare. Perhaps I too have been underestimating you." He whispered to himself. He heard a grunting from the ground and returned his attention to his captive.<p>

"What have you done to me!?" Galatea grunted.

"In actuality? Not a thing." He replied.

"What are you talking about? My body feels like it weighs- wait, you mean?" Galatea asked moving her chin across the ground attempting to look up.

"That's right. This isn't real, you only think you weigh thousands of pounds because I'm making it so." He explained. "Right now, I'm controlling all your senses, taste, touch, smell, hearing, sight, I'm controlling them all."

"But how? Are you an awakened being? I should have sensed your yoki long before this!" Galatea shouted.

"As for how I managed to catch you like this. I simply took out that fool Ermita and replaced him." The Phantom explained. "I knew he was your handler and that if he was here you wouldn't be far behind. You see, I've known for some time that you were tracking me. That's why I lead you way out here where you couldn't get backup. In reality you've been under my little spell since you came here, I've only allowed you to keep your senses until now because I had to make sure you were totally and completely under my control." Galatea gritted her teeth and grunted as she heard this, her fury at her own incompetence and at the Phantom increasing. "Don't feel too bad about it through, I've had much practice doing this, you shouldn't feel ashamed you were caught completely off-guard. At any rate, to answer your next question, no an awakened being I am not, but yoki is something I have."

"Are you a warrior?" she asked.

"I am. A very old and weary one. " he replied. "You see, like you I am a watcher. An eye that sees many things, I knew you were watching me, but you didn't know I was watching you as well. I suppose you could say I was watching you watching me."

"You didn't answer my last question though." Galatea reminded.

"Astute. Yes, indeed. You see I have had much practice with yoki suppression." The Phantom continued. "And I can suppress it very well, but not completely, because as you know not even the suppression pills are able to do that. So for a long time I couldn't go very close to any warrior, that is until I met Roxanne."

Galatea widened her eyes at this and he continued. "That's right. The same Roxanne of 'Love and Hate'. One of the great eight number ones' who didn't awaken before they died. I'm sure you already are familiar with Roxanne's story somewhat, she actually was only the thirty-five when she was first enlisted. She copied the techniques of others around her. She was able to do this through her specialization in yoki synchronization. But that was not all, after copying and using the technique after a while, she became 'bored' with it, and caused the death of the original user of the technique and then moved on to the next, constantly striving to be the number one. I know because I watched as she did her work, befriending fellow warriors, copying their techniques, then killing them and moving on, like a parasite and growing stronger each time. That is until she faced Cassandra."

Galatea listened intently. Taking in the words with confusion and wondering what this all had to do with what she asked. "Cassandra the 'Dust Eater' you see was the number one while Roxanne was number two, but Roxanne couldn't settle for being anything less than the best, so she killed Cassandra's best friend and spread lies to the Organization that she had gone mad and was plotting to rebel against them. In retaliation the Organization sent many warriors to subdue Cassandra. In outrage she fought back until Roxanne finally used it as her chance to seize the title of number one." He paused." Sometime after Cassandra's death it was reported that during an awakened being hunt that Roxanne's entire party had died except for her, but then another awakened being arrived on the scene and killed her, but this is untrue for I was the one who killed her."

"Why? Why did you care?" Galatea asked.

"Because, you see I didn't only know of Cassandra but we were actually good friends. She was a kind and gentle soul, it's what drew me to her. But Roxanne had twisted her into a monster and manipulated events so she would die, and I saw as the warriors cut her to pieces, Roxanne delivering the finishing blow." He paused again. "I hunted Roxanne down for months waiting for opportunity but to no avail because she had a trick, she could manipulate the yoki senses of anyone she was close enough to, in other words she could create a sort of 'blind-spot' in another's yoki senses. Eventually though she slipped up and I caught her, and right before she died, I showed here the true meaning of cruelty. Since that time I have been able to use the same technique."

"What do I have to do with any of this?" She asked.

"Why do you ask questions you already know the answers to?" he countered. "I had to subdue you because while you are watching me I am not able to move around so freely, and that is a problem I can't allow."

"Are you going to kill me?" she inquired.

"I'd really rather not." The Phantom replied honestly. "You seem to be a dutiful warrior, a loyal soldier, and I can use you."

"Are you asking me to join you?" she asked.

"That is up to you. I find that you are an intelligent woman, and a strong fighter. These are qualities I value. I'll make you a deal; I'll release you and tell you all the little things about the Organization that you don't already know and then you decide where you think your loyalties are best placed." He offered.

Galatea nodded once and felt relief as the mist and blur of the environment faded away and the weight that had been weighing her down had lifted, she stood up but the shadowy form of the figure remained. "Very well then, here's what I know…"

* * *

><p>"I think it best if we separate now." Miria concluded. "Continue on as if nothing happened. We finished our assignment, the awakened being was killed and that is all any of us know. Got it?"<p>

"Yes I believe so." Deneve answered. "Do everything we can to keep the Organization from discovering our mistrust."

"Exactly." Miria confirmed. "For here on, do only what you're told and stay away from suspicious activity. We need to change this image of us as troublemakers."

"Aw, do we really have to?" Helen whined.

"I'm afraid that we're going to need to proceed with caution from now on." Miria said addressing the three. "If we do that we should be able to avoid detection for a while."

"You sure?" Deneve asked.

"Don't worry." Miria assured. "Everything will be fine. Besides you're much more powerful now that you've all awakened. If I had to rank your abilities I'd say each of you is easily within the single digits."

Deneve turned to Helen. "What do you think is that true?"

"I don't feel that strong." Helen answered.

"Believe me you are that strong." Miria assured. "It's unlikely you'll have to fight one of our ranks but if so, know that the odds will be in your favor. That is unless you happen to run into a number five or greater. If you're faced with one of those, you'd be a fool to even attempt to fight them."

"So you're saying we should steer clear of anyone in the single digits is that about right?" Helen summarized.

"There's more to it than that." Miria said. "

It's not just any high rank where you're concerned there's a huge difference in your chances of survival fighting a five versus a six." Miria explained.

"That bad?" Helen asked.

Miria took out her claymore and walked over to the stone wall. With the blade point she carved five symbols into the wall. "These are the emblems of the top five. Don't forget them. From the right: Number One: Alicia, Number Two: Beth, Number Three: Galatea, and Number Four…" Miria paused glaring at the mark.

Clare took notice. "What's wrong why did you stop on number four?"

Miria turned to face the three. "Life is meaningless to her, so she wouldn't think twice about killing one of her own. She also has an unusual obsession with hunting awakened beings."

"Unfortunate." Deneve observed. "So you think the best thing for us to do is keep our distance from her?"

"That's right. Avoid her as much as you can without drawing attention." She warned. "She's ruthless, loves to fight, but more than anything, she loves the sight of blood. Her name's Ophelia and this is her emblem." She finished pointing to the fourth symbol from the right. "Finally, Number Five: Rafaela."

The three warriors observed the symbols with scrutiny. The first symbol on the right was a long upward pronged trident with inward prongs almost touching the center. The second had a short reverse pronged style with the outer spikes stretching to the sides. The third was a short pronged trident style with flat tips reminiscent of a balance scale. The forth was a simple circle with a line separating it into halves. The fifth symbol was an "m" style with upward lines on the closest slopes towards the center.

Clare then spoke up. "So what will you be doing during all of this?"

"I'll keep on looking for information within the Organization. Don't worry I'll let you know as soon as I can if I come across anything." Miria replied.

"And you're gonna to be doing this by yourself?" Helen asked.

"It's too risky to stick together we might draw attention. "Miria explained. "Besides we don't really know if the Organization is trying to get rid of us at this point, it's just speculation. Try not to think that everyone in the Organization is against you, now is not the time to get paranoid. But that doesn't mean you should let your guard down, stay on your toes, and always keep your wits about you." Miria then lifted her claymore into the center between the four, and then the three all followed suit, the tips of their blades meeting in the middle. "We'll meet again. So please, try to survive." The three nodded sealing their pact with each other.

* * *

><p>Galatea put her hand against a tree for support. "I can't believe that."<p>

"You must." The phantom said. "It's all true. Oh, and one more thing, I have to block your memory of this ever happening."

"Why is that?" she asked.

"I think the reason is obvious, don't you?" He walked over to her and put a hand to her forehead. "After this you won't remember what really happened here until about six months from now, until then a fake implanted memory will be what you remember when you try to think back to now. The memory will be of a fight, the real Ermita is behind a tree not far from here, and the dead corpse of an awakened being not far from him, you will remember fighting and the beast knocking out Ermita before you killed it. You will assume that you were too busy trying to concentrate on the yoki in the mountains that it caught you unawares, that should be enough to convince him."

"Will I see you again?" Galatea asked.

"Eventually. Six months from now you will remember everything that transpired here and you will make your choice. Choose wisely." With that the Phantom flicked Galatea's forehead and she fell to the ground unconscious. Eli looked at her grimly before bounding through the forest back to town.

* * *

><p><em>Back in town…<em>

* * *

><p>Raki waited patiently outside the inn waiting for Eli and Clare to show. The innkeeper opened the door. "Can't you see this is hopeless? Look son, I've never seen a Claymore go up the mountains and come back alive."<p>

Raki stared hard at him. "She'll be back alright. Clare always keeps her promises." The innkeeper shrugged and closed the door. "She will be back."

"Well I see where I fall on your list of priorities." Eli said stretching as he walked towards Eli from behind.

Raki turned to face him. "You're back." He deadpanned.

"Yeah great to see you too kid, now turn around and see who you've really been waiting up for." He replied.

Raki turned around to see Clare walking down the paved road. "It's Clare." He whispered. "You're back!" he exclaimed running towards her.

Clare kept walking calmly. _"I will make it, I will survive."_

Eli smirked as he watched the boy run up to Clare. _"Perhaps there's more of Teresa in you then I thought. Forgive me Clare; you have the warrior's grit, when I do not. Perhaps you are the one to avenge her."_

* * *

><p><strong>Done. Now review. Hypnotoad commands you!<strong>


	8. Ch 8: The Seeker of Blood

**I bet you read this entire line before realizing it had no pertinence. Ha!**

**I don't own Claymore.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 8: The Seeker of Blood<p>

_Sometime later…_

* * *

><p>Clare stood from her crouching position and swung her claymore to her side, cleaning the purple blood from it. Three yoma lay on the ground around her, their eyes wide with their last realizations of their fate. She then returned her blade to her its resting place as Eli and Raki stood nearby, fulfilling their roles of the onlookers as usual.<p>

Raki stepped forward looking from his covered blade to Clare. _"Someday I'll be strong enough to help people too. Just like Clare." _he thought in admiration. Eli, over the past few weeks, had given Raki some rudimentary training in wielding a blade, if Clare had objected to this in any way she did not say. While Raki respected Eli for being both a competent teacher and for managing to earn the friendship of Clare, which took Raki himself a great deal of effort to achieve, he also began to notice the respect, if not downright admiration with which Clare had when she looked at him.

While being the same quality that Raki respected, it was also the one he was slightly jealous of. He was unsure of the walking enigma that Clare had seemed to put her faith in wholeheartedly, and without hesitation. There were too many questions that Raki hadn't the answers to. For instance, how did they actually know each other? Raki had asked a few times to Clare who simply gave the vague answer of him being an "old friend" and when he tried to prod for more information she dismissed him saying it was none of his business. Raki didn't bother to ask Eli either being reminded every time by him of their previous agreement, but there were even more questions that plagued him with greater curiosity. Why was his hair silvery? Why did he never take off his goggles, even in the dim light? What was that large clothed object he always carried around? How had he been able to heal Clare and what was that light? All questions left unanswered, and after a few weeks Raki had to admit, it was eating at him.

* * *

><p><em>Later…<em>

* * *

><p>"You took down those three yoma quite easily, excellent." Rubel praised as Clare gave her routine check in.<p>

"Well, they really weren't that difficult." Clare replied humbly.

"Amazing work, I've noticed that you've been getting into less trouble lately and I believe your manners have improved immensely as well. Something happen to you?" Rubel inquired.

"It was during the hunt for the awakened being. I realized what my limitations were and was humbled by the experience." Clare replied again acting as meek as possible.

"I have another mission for you, if it's not too soon." Rubel offered. Clare nodded. "I need you to go to the northern city Gonal and hunt down an awakened being there."

"Another one?" Clare asked feigning disinterest.

Rubel continued. "Unfortunately it's not Priscilla, however this one was once ranked in the single digits and is far more powerful than the male awakened being you were up against. So you better stay focused if you want to continue living."

"Don't worry, I won't die. You can trust me on that" Clare deadpanned before turning and walking back to the small camp of Eli and Raki.

Rubel looked on as Clare walked away. "Isn't that encouraging." He said softly smiling to himself. "I'm counting on it."

* * *

><p><em>Four days later…<em>

* * *

><p>It was night as the small party of three were situated around the fire glowing in the middle of camp next to a lake. Clare sat on a nearby fallen log as Eli stood next to Raki, watching over his increasingly improving form with slight pride, both in Raki's progress and in his own teaching skills, though Raki was a bit obstinate whenever Eli tried to correct his mistakes in form, as to why all the hostility, Eli couldn't hazard a guess.<p>

"At the rate we're going we'll be in Gonal by tomorrow." Raki huffed as he continued to swing his sword.

Eli satisfied with Raki's current form and stance decided to sit down on the log next to Clare, now observing the flames of the fire as they reflected in his dark eye pieces.

"I want you to stay here Raki." Clare said, drawing the attention of both Eli and Raki, the latter of whom stopped mid-swing of the form Eli had taught him.

"No way! I want to go with you!" Raki protested.

"It's dangerous, I'd prefer that you stay." Clare replied in her usual calm tone.

"Yeah, but Clare I-" Raki started when Clare stood up cutting him off.

"Stay until I get back." Clare ordered. "Alright?"

Raki continued to scowl before turning to look at Eli. "And what about him?" Raki demanded.

Clare glanced over to Eli before addressing Raki."Eli is fully capable of handling himself. He can choose to do what he likes."

"And why can't I?" Raki asked, his frustration growing.

"Because you cannot. The little Eli has taught you isn't enough to do me or even yourself any good." Clare continued in her calm tone. "He however…"

Eli leaned over to Clare and whispered into her ear, an action which only further incited Raki.

"Eli will stay here with you and make sure you stay put till I get back." Clare informed.

"So he is allowed to come or go as he pleases and I have to stay here no matter what? Why?" Raki asked his frustrations boiling over, though neither Clare nor Eli seemed to be bothered.

"Because I am strong, and you are weak." Eli said standing up now addressing the boy directly.

"And that's how you feel too Clare?" Raki asked. Clare said nothing as Raki took her silence as confirmation. "Fine then!" he cried as he stomped over to Eli and stood right before him. "I challenge you!"

Clare was taken back a little as Eli raised a brow at the sudden announcement. "You? Challenge me?" Eli stated making sure he had heard right. "You can't be serious."

"Raki…" Clare said trying to put a hand on his shoulder only for him to pull away.

"No! Clare, you and me had been traveling and been just fine on our own before this guy showed up!" He shouted his frustration coming to a head. "You call him an 'old friend' but refuse to say anything else about him! For all I know about him he's a yoma in disguise! Yet you seem to have no problem trusting him more than you trust me! So I challenge him, and if I win I can 'do what I like' as well and you aren't allowed to say no to me anymore!"

Clare began to speak but Eli held his hand up. "Fine then. I accept your challenge and your terms. Come." He said walking over to a clearing in the woods, Raki following behind, the crescent moon above providing slight light in the darkness.

Eli then walked to the far side of the clearing and turned around. "Here are the rules, you must hit me once to win, you may use whatever method you wish to hit me, even your sword and may strike me wherever on my body, and I..." he continued hitting a nearby tree causing the trunk to vibrate violently as a torrent of leaves came down. "...must simply not be hit by you or anything you decide to strike at me with, if either of us should leave this clearing it is an automatic forfeit and the win goes to the other contestant. If by the time the last of these leaves fall and you are still not able to hit me then I win, and if I do you will do as Clare or I says and won't question either of us unless we permit it. Any questions?"

Raki with a look of determination shook his head.

"I'll warn you now, Raki. You must come at me as though you meant to kill me, or you won't stand even a slight chance at besting me." Eli warned.

Raki drew his sword from the ground holding it in front of him. "I will beat you!"

Eli smirked. "That's the spirit, now come at me!"

Raki didn't need to be told twice as he raised his sword and charged Eli, who simply stood still as he waited for the strike. Raki swung the sword down on top of his head only for Eli to side step and stick his foot out as Raki lost his footing and tumbled to the ground. Eli smirked and jumped slightly to another part of the clearing, creating some distance as the leaves continued to fall, only slower. "I do hope that's not the best you got!" he taunted.

Clare watched the match with a slight grimace. _"He simply toying around with him."_ She turned to look at the young boy. _"Raki…"_

Raki got up from his face-plant with the earth and looked to the ground noticing a pile of loose pebbles. He smirked grabbing a handful he turned around and threw them at Eli. Raki watched with amazement as Eli's hand in a blur of speed moved out in front of him and then stood still as Eli held his fist out in front of him, slowly opening his palm as the thrown pebbles fell to the ground.

Raki gritted his teeth as he noticed that the leaves were falling much less frequently now and grabbed a few sticks from the ground and threw them at Eli only for him to dodge each and every one with ease. The last of the leaves began to fall as Raki picked up his sword and charged Eli one last time, coming across with his Blade to cut Eli in half, only for Eli to catch the blade with his hand just as the leaves landed to the ground. "It's over, Raki. You have lost."

Raki gritted his teeth again and then fell to his knees, his frustrations mixing with despair at his loss and at his own weakness. He wept softly, pounding the dirt with his fist as Eli began to walk from the clearing. Clare grabbed Eli's shoulder. "You didn't have to do that."

Eli turned to her. "You can't treat him like a child anymore Clare, he has to grow up or this world will kill him."

"And you think this is the best way to do that? By humiliating him?" Clare shot back.

"Only his pride has been wounded, and humility is a good teacher, he will recover from this and be better for it. He's stronger than you give him credit for." Eli said before walking back to camp. Clare glanced to Raki one last time before turning around and following him.

* * *

><p><em>The next morning…<em>

* * *

><p>Raki and Eli watched from the lakeside as Clare continued on towards Gonal, they watched her walk up the dirt road and out of sight, things had been slightly tense that morning as they parted ways. Raki still bitter with defeat at the hands of Eli and feeling even more set back then before, Clare who still felt slight guilt at Eli's seemingly harsh attitude towards the boy last night, and Eli whose patience over watching the two had grown from tolerant to a state of annoyance.<p>

Eli walked towards the camp. "Raki come, you need more training."

Raki turned around bitterly and followed him. "Yes... sir." He said with some small bitterness as Eli sat down on the ground and leaned against a log, instructing Raki on the forms of his sword technique to which the student complied to doing, being less obstinate than before.

The road to Gonal smelt of salt water and brine as Clare overlooked the town and its rows of stone houses situated next to the coast of the sea which glowed with a green-blue hue. Taking a final moment to take the scenery in Clare descended from the hill into the town.

Eli continued to watch Raki work, slightly pleased with his newfound progress and the seriousness with which Raki was giving it.

"Stop." Eli ordered, Raki stopped mid swing.

"What is it now?" Raki asked.

"Nothing, take a break. I'm going to find something to eat, don't move I'll be right back." Eli explained before leaving the campsite and descending into the surrounding brush.

After a few minutes and making sure Eli was good and gone, Raki looked towards the road and began to run up towards Gonal. _"Hang on Clare…"_ Raki thought as he continued to run with all his might after the warrior.

* * *

><p><em>Twenty minutes later…<em>

* * *

><p>"Okay Raki, I got the-" Eli started holding up a few hares before looking around at the deserted campsite, taking note of the missing boy and his missing blade. "Damn it Raki." Eli said under his breath before tossing the hares to the side and picking up his sword running after the boy.<p>

Clare walked into the town and found it to be completely abandoned, it was a ghost town. Some buildings had even fallen into such states of disrepair that some of them looked as though they might collapse in on themselves at any moment. Clare then stopped sensing another presence. _"Another warrior is nearby."_ Clare continued walking on through the ruins. _"Sensing something else, very strange, I feel as though every cell in my being is trying to warn me. What could it be?"_ She continued to walk on until she had reached the center of town where a large ruined fountain lay in the middle, a lone warrior sat on the edge of the ring facing away from Clare, but turned around as she heard the clank of Clare's polished steel boots.

"Good afternoon." The warrior greeted. She wore the usual attire of a Claymore and had the usual silvery-blonde hair of a Claymore that was braided into a long plait, her hairline was a widow's peak, she also possessed pointed, almost elf-like ears.

"Are we the first ones?" Clare inquired looking around to the other buildings. "I was sure the rest would be here by now."

"Actually, I think we're it." The warrior informed.

Clare was slightly puzzled by this. "You mean the two of us will take it on alone?"

"You got it." She confirmed with a slight smile. "But the truth is I could have handled this one by myself. So I guess you're just a bonus."

Clare looked to the warrior's blade guard, it was blue. _"She one of the single digits, but is she one of the top five? Her emblem, I'll know for certain when I see it."_ Clare thought before the warrior disappeared in a flash reappearing behind Clare and binding her arms and torso together, griping tightly so as that Clare's movements were all but wasted.

"Don't be offended." The warrior whispered into Clare's ear. "But you smell very similar to an awakened being to me. Hold on. I just want to smell you a bit longer. You see, I kind of like it." Clare continued to squirm but in vain as the warrior held tight. "Too tight? Sorry about that." The warrior apologized before reaching with her hand under Clare's dickie and into her shirt, Clare gasped at the action. "Just stay still now. 'Course I'm not really giving you a choice in the matter am I?" the warrior then pressed into Clare's skin and pierced it drawing her hand out and looking at her fingertip stained with blood for a moment before sticking them in her mouth, sucking on her fingers and licking them, seeing what she could discern from its taste. "Now that tastes strange. It's odd but it also tastes familiar. You seem to be one of us, but are you?"

"Let her go now!" a voice called out before a blade came swinging down on the warrior who simply jumped back at the action, it was Raki who had come.

"Raki…" Clare said slightly surprised at his presence.

Raki held up his blade. "Stay back Clare, I won't let her hurt you, I promise." He said turning around to face the warrior again. "You want her? Come get her!"

The warrior touched the area on her arm where Raki's blow had barely grazed her. "And who is this child? The brave little human?" She then held up her own bloodied finger to her face. "Oh look, beautiful isn't it? You only see this exquisite color when a body is split open, more lovely than roses, don't you think?" she asked them turning around to face them. Clare caught sight of the emblem on the warrior's dickie and gasped, recognizing it instantly. "And how I'll make that little boy bloom, oh yes." She said her facial features become laced with malice and anticipation.

Clare stepped forward now uneasy. _"She's number four, Ophelia."_ Clare thought grimacing at the situation.

Ophelia raised a brow. "My, my. Was that fear in your eyes when you say my emblem?" She asked. "I guess someone's been talking about me. You'll have to tell me who." Ophelia jumped off the ledge she was on and landed gracefully to the ground. "I really should thank them, but first let's try something." She said eyeing Raki who continued to hold up his sword.

Raki couldn't blink as the warriors' two blades suddenly surrounded him. Clare barely making it in time to stop Raki from being cut in twain. "Damn." Clare uttered.

"Good. You're faster than I expected." Ophelia remarked, slightly pleased at her interesting prey. Ophelia then brought her blade up and struck again at Clare who blocked it with her own claymore.

"Why are you doing this?" Clare asked. "Have you forgotten the law? If you kill a human then you have to die, so what are you, wanting death?"

"Oh, come on now Clare. You only die if you turn yourself in." Ophelia argued. "Sure they chop off your head if you report it, but who would do that?"

Clare gritted her teeth. "How can you say that?" Raki laid on the ground with his sword by his side realizing the true worthlessness of him being here and how he had just put Clare in danger by giving her something to think about besides her own safety.

"Of course, sometimes there are loose ends." Ophelia continued. "Like witnesses, but you can get rid of those easy enough." Ophelia chuckled at Clare's obvious protest. "Here's an idea, let's play a little game." She suggested. Clare gasped as Ophelia, with quickness of blade, cleanly cut through Clare's legs. Clare fell on the ground writhing in pain at the sudden removal of her legs, and Ophelia stood over her while Raki watched on in horror. 'Now pay attention while I explain the rules. So the game starts with me taking on the child," she said turning to look at Raki who had found the courage to stand and hold his blade. "Of course I won't be doing it at full strength just yet. First I'll lower myself to match him and with every passing minute I'll let myself get just a notch stronger, increasing my speed and agility a little bit at a time." Ophelia looked slightly towards the sky as she began to do mental calculations. "At a rough guess I'd say… in about ten minutes I'll have his head in my hands, all you have to do is attach your legs and rescue him in time. So it's pretty simple, If you take too long he dies , but if you rush getting your legs attached and they don't work and you can't help him." Ophelia watched as Clare already grunted and sweated as she tried to crawl over to her legs. "Admit it, that does sound like fun doesn't it?"

Clare grunted in pain and frustration. "Damn you…" she seethed.

Ophelia smirked walking over to Raki. "Let's start. Ready?" Raki gritted his teeth and tried to remember his training. "Go." With that Ophelia stuck at Raki's outstretched sword and Raki stumbled back at the force of the blow. Ophelia continued to smirk as she stepped towards him again ready to strike her next blow. Clare continued to crawl over to her legs and reattach them, her functioning limbs and Raki's safety having swept all other thoughts from her mind.

Raki charged and tried several of the striking techniques he had been taught , but Ophelia blacked them with utter ease at Raki's futile attempts to fight back.

Clare anxiously tried to sit up, attempting reconnecting her leg. _"This should work if I just alternate my yoki between healing and regenerating."_

Raki charged with his blade again only for Ophelia to side step and dodge easily, she chuckled. "I'm impressed, you're actually better than I thought, and that technique, did she teach it to you?" she asked glancing over at Clare. Raki panted, having been exhausted trying to compete with Ophelia. "Oops, it's been one minute, better level up." With that she struck at Raki with greater force than before pushing his sword as he remembered his training and brought the blade down to the ground so it's other edge would not cut into him. Ophelia raised a brow. "Yes, that is the correct way to hold a double-edged sword, very good, you're not half bad for a human runt, did she train you in how to use one?"

Clare continued trying to reattach her legs, but between her worrying over Raki and trying to concentrate on her work, it seemed that nothing was working. '"Well that's not going to work is it?" Ophelia asked looking over to Clare watching her progress. "What did I tell you? If you rush it they won't stay together and you'll be of no help, and he does need help." Raki raised his blade to strike again only for a small cut on the side of his body appear, Raki cringed at the pain. "But of course, if you do manage to attach them, they won't be one-hundred percent."

Clare closed her eyes. _"Stay calm, focus."_

Ophelia chucked "Aren't you an obedient little girl? You doing exactly what you're told to do."

The minutes passed and Raki became more bloodied and tired as they passed, Ophelia taking sick pleasure in her little game. "One, two, three." Ophelia counted as Raki's body suffered more and more cuts. "This is so much fun! I love fighting this child! Oh, just look at him! He's trying so hard not to distract you that he's not making a sound no matter what I do, he won't scream even though he's in terrible pain. Yes, even though he's soaked in blood and wants to cry." Ophelia chucked, delighting in their misery.

"Shut your mouth!" Raki bellowed charging again, trying to cut off Ophelia's head who stepped back as the tip of the blade passed by harmlessly. "You're just saying that to try and distract her!" Ophelia looked genuinely surprised at the boy. "Come on! Those attacks of yours are so weak! You've barely scratched me!"

Ophelia struck at him again this time cutting his chest. Raki couldn't help himself as he fell to the ground, his new wound being deeper than the others. "Oops. I think I may have hit something important that time." Ophelia observed as Raki began to writhe in pain on the ground.

"Raki!" Clare called out, the momentary distraction causing her leg to destabilize from its regeneration as the limb fell back to the ground, Clare already having enough time to have connected her right leg.

"Oh well." Ophelia sighed towering over Raki. "Guess it's endgame."

Raki looked up in defiance as he waited for his impending demise. Ophelia raised her sword. Clare called out. "Raki!"

Just then the ground exploded between Raki and Ophelia. A blade had dropped from the sky, a claymore in fact, but larger than the ones Ophelia and Clare wielded and with runes and line fractures running across the blade. Crouching on the blade hilt and holding the pommel to keep balance was none other than..

"Eli!" Raki gasped though coughs, not believing that the man who had seemingly just ridden on a sword that had fallen out of the sky was really there.

Ophelia was slightly stunned at the sudden turn of events, but soon regained her composure and addressed him. "And who, might I ask, are you?"

Eli hopped off his blade and walked over to Raki ignoring the stare of Ophelia. "So… you still glad you came?" he asked the boy.

Raki smirked, blood seeping into his mouth. "What… what took you so long?"

"Well you did actually get a sizeable head start on me. But I'm here now." Eli answered picking up Raki bridal style then walking over to Clare."So, judging from your severed legs and the cuts on Raki, especially this gash on his chest, I'd say the culprit is that woman over there, right?" he asked Clare who nodded as she continued trying to regenerate her leg. "I see. Take a breather, I'll take it from here." With that he set Raki down next to Clare and turned around to face the warrior. "So… I suppose that's your handiwork?"

Ophelia grinned. "That was an impressive, if slightly unorthodox entrance just now."

"Thank you." Eli said taking a bow. "My name is Eli, a pleasure."

"Oh? A gentleman? How hard it is to find those nowadays." Ophelia said in slight thought.

Eli's glowered as she continued. "To answer your previous question though, yes it was me, beautiful don't you think?" she asked.

"I'm afraid you and I have different views of beauty." He replied.

Ophelia's smile faded. "Oh? I guess some people just can't appreciate true beauty even when it's right in front of them."

Eli smirked this time. "Then perhaps you could teach me your concepts?" he asked.

Ophelia grinned. "But of course, you needed only to ask!" she disappeared in a flash appearing behind Eli and binding him as she had done before with Clare. "You know, you interrupted my game from before. But that's alright we can have our own game, just the two of us."

Eli grinned. "Really? You make a tempting offer. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, before you interrupted us, the boy and I over there were playing a little game, before I accidentally broke him." Ophelia answered.

"Do tell." Eli said not showing the least bit of worry over the current situation.

"The rules are simple, I'll fight at your level and with each passing minute I'll get stronger, if Clare manages to reattach her legs and save you then you live, if not you die, sound fair?" Ophelia asked.

"Of course." He answered and with that she let go as Eli walked over and picked up Raki's blade turning around to face Ophelia.

"Not using that big sword for battle?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "No. I believe this will do."

"Someone feels good about their chances." Ophelia disappeared and in a flash connected blades with Eli who blocked easily, shoving Ophelia back with enough force to cause her to lose balance she caught herself

"My thoughts exactly." Eli said holding the blade out in front of him.

Ophelia huffed. "Hnn… that strange smell again, only slightly different, far more potent." She said looking up to Eli. "And it's coming from you, odd."

"I suggest you take me more seriously…" Eli said disappearing in a flash and appearing behind Ophelia, who was caught by surprise by the sudden movement. "…that is, if you want to stay alive." She swung her blade around herself in a flash Eli ducked down, the blade cleaving the empty space above his head. He rushed her now open defenses and instantly appeared behind her Raki's blade dripping blood as Ophelia's shoulder exploded in red.

Ophelia stood perfectly still, reaching up and touching with her right hand to her left shoulder, she then looked to her bloody hand and turned around to face Eli. "Not bad, not bad at all. There aren't many people who could cut me like this, make me bloom in this beautiful color." She lowered her hand to her side. "You are far more interesting than I first suspected, and that smell again." She paused. "What are you really?"

Eli lowered the blade, letting the tip touch the ground. "Me? I'm just the guy who you have made the mistake of crossing. I don't particularly like to kill, but I'm very good at it. You make think you're pretty good yourself but know this, you're little more than a greenhorn next to me."

Ophelia laughed. "Bold words. I respect your strength, forgive me, I won't go easy this time." She said her eyes now glowing gold.

"Then neither will I." responded Eli picking up the sword.

The two prepared to strike when the faint sounds of footsteps came clacking on the ground from nearby. The four turned to look and saw a small girl enter the center of town, her hair a murky black and her skin an opaque white.

Ophelia frowned. "Huh, she's here already? That's too bad, things were just getting fun too, ah well."

Eli lowered his sword. _"Shit. This isn't good. She's already here."_

"What do we have here?" the girl asked.

Raki stumbled to his feet. "You need to get out of here." He said weakly holding his chest.

Clare went up to him shouldering his weight. "Raki, you shouldn't move."

"Why would I do that?" the girl asked him. "I can't believe my luck. Two claymores and humans." She began to morph tentacles growing from her body. "**The boy smells intoxicating, it's so delicious, can't help myself, I'll have to eat him first, hope you understand.**" The girl erupted into a giant mass of tentacles her body elongating as her skin turned a very dark gray, she stood before them a mostly humanoid appearance with long tentacles as fingers and hair.

"It's the awakened being." Clare uttered.

Ophelia turned and looked up at the being. "Yes it does look ferocious. I hope we can manage."

The being looked down at the four. "**Come to think of it, that man there smells like he wouldn't be very tasty, but the boy definitely looks delicious. So you three are just in the way.**"

Eli, Ophelia, and Clare moved quickly as the being lashed out with her tentacles, wiping out the nearby buildings and causing rubble to fill the town. The being was puzzled looking from Ophelia to Clare and then to Raki, who noticed his blade on the ground next to him and grabbed it holding the weapon out weakly in front of him."**Huh, that's weird I thought I had destroyed everyone but the boy, yet here you two are. Well, at least the foul smelling man is gone. I must admit you are very strong.**"

Ophelia chucked as Clare fell over her earlier injuries opening and her legs almost separating again. "They're not healed yet."

Ophelia appeared behind Raki grabbing him. "Work on your legs, I'll take care of him!" she ordered. "You must hurry we don't have much time, I know you can do it!" Clare was once again shocked by Ophelia's actions as the being watched on. "I'm sure you've noticed but that's not an ordinary awakened being, our only chance is to join forces if we hope to have the smallest prayer of defeating it, now hurry!" Clare obeyed, before Ophelia turned a grin. "I'm just kidding!" with that she threw Raki at the being who caught him in midair.

"Clare! Eli! Help!" Raki shouted fear evident in his voice as he tried to flail against the tentacles.

"Ra-" Clare was cut off as Ophelia shoved her head into the ground.

"Oops I guess my hand slipped. How can you ever forgive me for this?" Ophelia asked.

Raki continued to flail in front of the being. "Let go of me damn it! Let go of me! I said put me down now!" he shouted.

Clare continued to struggle underneath Ophelia's grasp. "You're so weak you don't stand a chance of breaking free, so why even try? It's a waste of time, good thing I got rid of the kid and that man's dead because I'll need both hands for this. This awakened being is terribly powerful isn't it, Clare?" Clare growled her eyes glowing gold.

The being smiled lowering Raki to the front of her face. "**There's no one left to help you now, sorry.**" She said to Raki who glared at her, then gasped as her mouth opened, long teeth and a waiting gullet appearing before his eyes.

"This can't be it. This can't be the end." Raki said defiantly.

Ophelia smirked as Clare writhed underneath. "Come now, don't you see? You could push your power to its limit and still not come close to me? So it's pointless to struggle."

"No, I'm not dying today!" Raki said lifting his sword.

"Your problem is you don't know when to give up." Ophelia explained. "Admit it, the human's as good as dead just like the other one. No matter how much yoki you unleash, you're never going to save him and the sooner you accept that the better."

The being began to lower Raki into its mouth. "I'm not going to give up now!" Raki said defiantly though dizzily due to the blood loss. "I have to survive, so I can protect her." Raki bellowed as he raised his sword and struck against the beings face, the blade not even leaving a scratch against the monster. The last of Raki's hope faded. 'I should have known, I'm so useless. " The being continued to lower him into its waiting jaws.

"_Raki!"_ Clare released her yoki as she raced to save him but stopped short as the being staggered before falling over, a shadowy figure landing on the ground, Raki tucked under his arm. "Eli." She uttered in disbelief her eyes fading back to their silvery color.

"Whew! That was a little too close for comfort, eh kid?" Eli said to Raki who looked up at the man in utter shock. "Sorry about the disappearing act, hard to find my sword among all the debris."

Ophelia stared at Clare and Eli, her smile now straining. "No, no my dear. I definitely saw you surpass your limit, you must be cheating somehow, and you attached your legs too, I under the impression that once you overextended your ability there was no going back, And you, goggle-eyed man, Eli was it? How did you survive? How were you able to save that boy? But how? This makes no sense I was, how were either of you-"Ophelia stopped mid sentence her smile widening even further. "Wait, could it be true? You were actually awakened the whole time? Both of you? Oh, this is marvelous, I cannot believe this! I mean how often do I get the chance to kill three awakened beings in one afternoon?"

"Clare, we have to go." Clare looked at Eli. "When I give the word, run." Clare tensed up as the being began to pick itself up, Ophelia merely raised a brow. "Now!" With that Clare and Eli flew into the air away from the forest.

Ophelia watched them disappear. "Come now, you two can't escape from me." Ophelia began to run after them before her way barred by tentacles one grabbing her ankle and throwing her into the ground.

Ophelia recovered easily, her clothes now slightly tattered. **"I think I'll save the boy for later, I want to kill you first, I do hate arrogance."** The being said.

"Arrogance and what do you mean by that?" Ophelia asked nonchalantly.

"**You thought you could destroy me so easily, even said you could take on three awakened beings, so tell me do you still believe you can kill me?"** The being asked.

"What I believe is unimportant." Ophelia replied. "It only matters if I'm correct doesn't it?" She asked releasing her yoki.

* * *

><p>Eli and Clare ran through the trees, Raki in tow. <em>"This isn't good. Raki's wound won't stop bleeding. I need to stop to treat his injuries so he can last long enough to get proper help, but if I stop or go too slow, I risk not putting enough ground between us and those two. On the other hand if I try and go too fast I risk leaving Clare behind and Raki might not be able to take the roughness of faster travel. Damn! We're in a bind."<em>

* * *

><p>The being held Ophelia firmly in its grasp, tightening its hold with smug satisfaction. <strong>"Well, well, well. I guess we found out who the cocky one really is, would you like to beg for your life?"<strong>

Ophelia struggled in the grasp. "I'm begging you, stop talking, your breath's disgusting!" she said defiantly.

"_**SNAP"**_

Ophelia's head was turned right around her shoulders as her body ceased to move. **"Now, now, there's no need to forget your manners, is there?"** she asked the unmoving body before tossing it to the side. **And now for the rest of the party. Huh, not too bad as far as distance, but not nearly enough to save them. Perhaps my dead friend here is correct, they are hopeless."** The begin commented before there was a slight slicing of the air as the awakened being's head fell to the began to descend as the cut rang true. The being's head blinked. **"What…happened?"** It hit the ground with a slight crash. **"Impossible, your neck,** **I broke it."** The being said looking up as Ophelia stood on top of it.

"Oh, please." Ophelia sighed. "It would take more than that to stop someone like me." She replied turning her head back around with a few snaps. Before moving it around, cracking it. "If you really wanted to kill me then you should have cut off my head like I did yours."

"**You know…you're the monster here."** The being commented. Ophelia raised her claymore and silenced the being once and for all.

* * *

><p>Eli and Clare stopped as Eli took Raki out from under his arm and draped the boy's arm over his shoulder. "So the battle is already over." Clare observed.<p>

"What now?" Raki asked, shacking with weakness.

"We go our separate ways for a while." Eli and Raki both widened their eyes at her suggestion. "I'll lure her off your trail. Now go."

Eli began to speak when Raki cut him off, standing on his own. "I…I won't." he said defiantly. "I'm not gonna leave you, you hear me?"

"You do what I and Eli tell you!" Clare barked back. "Don't you see? You are in serious need of medical help, help I can't provide, it's a wonder you're even still conscious."

"Clare I-" Eli started.

"No, Eli. Only you can take care of Raki now." Clare cut off. "You might be able to take Ophelia but by the time you've defeated her it'd be too late for him! I don't know how to help him, but you do. I know you do. I trust you to take care of him."

Eli grimaced. "I know that but Clare, she's crazy. You might very well d-"

"I know that Eli, I'm not a fool." Clare interrupted.

Raki began to weep as fresh tears smeared his blood stained cheeks. "Look, I know I can't be of any use right now, but that doesn't change the fact that I want to be with you! I don't care if I die, just as long as we're together till then!"

Clare blinked, then slowly grabbed the sides of his head softly and with warm gentleness leaned in and caressed her lips to his, Raki stared into space wide eyed as Eli watched with, for the first time in a long time, genuine astonishment.

Clare broke the connection and slowly pulled back. "Don't ever say you don't care if you die. Because I promise, I'll be trying my hardest to survive and come back to you. You hear? You will live, because I won't fail you. I will find you Raki."

"Promise?" Raki asked.

"Promise." Clare confirmed.

"Alright then Clare." Raki conceded fumbling slightly as Eli broke from his astonishment and caught him underneath the arm draping it over his shoulder again. "I'll go and I will survive." _"So that someday…I can protect you."_ "Goodbye Clare."

Clare looked to Eli. "Take care of him Eli, I know you can."

"I promise Clare. We will meet again." Eli said sternly.

"Count on it." She replied. With that Eli readjusted Raki till he was riding piggyback and sped off into the forest.

Clare watched for a moment as the left. "Dear God of Rabona, please hear my prayer. May your blessings fall on those two. Give them your strength and your mercy, until the time comes when we're together again."

* * *

><p>Ophelia stretched as her bones crackled. "Oh, good. The stiffness in my neck is almost gone. Now that that's all taken care of, I can begin my hunt for the other two." She smiled wickedly, and in a blink of an eye, vanished.<p>

Clare sprinted through the trees as fast as she could, releasing her yoki steadily, she turned back to look at the sadistic face of Ophelia gaining quickly on her position.

Clare stopped as she began to heave in large breaths. Ophelia smirked as she easily caught up. Clare had run to a small ravine in the forest, the water running below flowing by in quick torrents.

Ophelia frowned. "You're so slow. I really didn't expect much, but this? There are so many unnecessary movements in your attacks, same with your defensive maneuvers. I could teach you to move so much more efficiently, that man though, he knew his stuff. Perhaps you should have asked for instruction from him. But I suppose none of that matters now." Her eyes shifted to gold, as Ophelia began to release her yoki, the light from the release casing visible patterns of wine red and deep purple to surround her. Clare tensed as she too released her yoki, her patterns of ocean blue surrounding her person. "I apologize, I'm still worked up from fighting such a strong adversary, but killing you should be a nice hold over till I find where that other being ran off to. Damned awakened beings. I'll never rest till I've torn every single one of you apart."

Clare gritted her teeth then closed her eyes and calmed herself, Ophelia was puzzled. "Just what do you think you're doing?" She asked "You picked an interesting time to suppress your yoki, have you given up already? Heh, and I came all this way, oh well." Ophelia ran forward and struck bringing her claymore down on Clare's, the sparks flashing as Clare struggled beneath the force. Ophelia continued to strike, faster with quicker precision, becoming frustrated as Clare knocked the blows away, though barely. Ophelia grinned wildly "My, you are full of surprises! Are you reading my yoki to anticipate my attacks? That is a fancy little trick! Maybe this won't be as boring as I thought!" Clare suddenly tensed and jumped back. "You saw it coming, you are perceptive, and right when I was going to show you the new move I was working on."

"What was that? I've never felt anything like it before." Clare asked.

Ophelia stepped forward. "Do me a favor, and try not to die after the first blow, alright?"

Clare sensed as Ophelia swung her claymore, the blade seemingly vibrating as it came. _"She's swinging at my right shoulder from below."_ Clare gasped as she felt her should being cut, but the refocused as Ophelia came again. _"At my left shoulder from above!"_ Clare moved to block again only for the blade to pass right through and damage her shoulder. Clare winced at the pain. _"How? I can see the path of her sword, why can't I defend against it_?" Ophelia swung again and Clare once again tried to block but to no avail as the blow landed making a deeper cut on Clare's left shoulder. _"Impossible! Her sword moved…like a snake!"_ Clare fell to the ground face first.

"It's a shame, really." Ophelia noted looking around to Clare. "In combat with any other opponent bet you would do pretty well, but against me you're doomed from the start." Clare looked up weakly from the ground back at Ophelia. "Do you know something, Clare?" she continued. "Unlike the rest of you, I've never been homered with a cute-little nick name, you know that one's I'm talking about don't you? Names like 'Phantom Miria' or 'Quick-sword Irene', so for years I worked tirelessly to create the technique you just witnessed." Ophelia demonstrated the technique again moving her wrist up and down slightly back and forth at incredible speeds, the blade looking almost snake-like in the light. "I call it the rippling sword. Like it?"

Clare gasped as she bore witness to the technique. _"Her sword! Her arm is vibrating so quickly! It looks like the blade is alive!"_

Ophelia smirked, her eyes glowing brightly golden in the shadow of the trees. "It's not a bad trick is it? I was thinking something like 'Rippling Ophelia', tell me the truth now, is it catchy enough?" Clare grimaced. "The only problem is that I can't get the word out about my new name, because no one that's seen it has lived to tell anyone else."

"_Damn it! I can't stop that attack even if I can anticipate her moves!" _Clare moved from the ground facing Ophelia.

"Wow, you just don't know when to give up do you?" Ophelia asked. "Any chance you may have had at winning is long gone."

"'_Chance at winning'? I never had any such thing."_ Clare thought catching a much needed breath. _"Not against that."_ Clare released her yoki and charged Ophelia head on.

Ophelia widened her eyes. "What? A head on attack huh? " Clare disappeared appearing behind Ophelia. "Such a disappointment." Clare brought her blade down for an attack as Ophelia merely raised her arm and lowered it in a quick motion separating Clare from her limb. Clare caught the arm as Ophelia turned her head. "You look like you're in pain Clare, I'll be happy to end it." Ophelia brought down her blade across Clare's chest as Clare's mouth began to fill with blood, falling backwards over the ravine. Ophelia looked down blankly at the water below. "And I had been told that you had potential. I guess everyone makes mistakes."

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile…<em>

* * *

><p>Eli ran until he reached the very edge of the forest, setting Raki down and watching over Clare's yoki as she lead Ophelia's strong yoki to catch up to her's and away from them. <em>"Damn, she's caught up to her already."<em>

Raki groaned as Eli finally got a closer look at the chest, it wasn't good. The wound was deep and he had lost a lot of blood. Eli held his head in his hands. Raki looked up to him weakly, "Am I gonna die?"

"Not if I can help it kid, oh and sorry about this." He said apologetically.

"About wha-" Raki began to ask before Eli knocked him out as quickly and least damaging as he could.

Eli then laid the still body on the ground. "For that." He answered. Eli then ripped open Raki's shirt and reached into his pockets and produced a needle and black string and placed them on the ground, then looked around him and noticed some medicinal herbs he recognized and grabbed them. Then he produced his flask and opening the lid poured his booze lightly over Raki's wounds, the body tensed as he did so. _"There that should stop any nasty infections."_ He thought capping the flask and returning it to its place. He then grabbed the needle and string and sewed the wound closed little by little, biting the end of the string and replacing it among the various contents of his jacket . He then grabbed the herb he had found, "plantago" as he recalled it was named, and placed them over the stitches laying the leaves right against the wound. Eli then produced the same cloth which cover ed the hilt of his blade and wrapped Raki's wound.

Finished with his small operation, Eli picked up Raki in his arms. "You had better make it kid, not every day you got a pretty girl waiting for you." Eli sensed back to Clare and Ophelia's location and widened his eyes as he felt Clare being stuck and falling into the water. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. _"Clare, you had better keep your promise."_ Eli then turned and looked outside of the forest. _"Got to find someplace to lay low for a while."_ With that Eli disappeared, a gust of wind following in his wake.

* * *

><p>The water of the ravine rushed by, when a hand burst forth from the water towards the shore. Clare pulled herself up, holding her severed arm in her mouth as she got out of the water. She spat the arm out and coughed up small amounts of blood. "Damn, I let myself get cut too deeply." Clare observed looking down at the wound. <em>"Still, there was nothing I could do, too shallow and she would have suspected something. I'm going to have to move quickly if I want to get my arm reattached."<em>

"That was quite the display." An all too familiar voice cut in from behind Clare as she turned to look. "You actually came pretty close to getting away with it, letting me cut off your arm was an excellent touch, my last blow felt like it was deep enough to finish you off. Did you plan to lead me to that cliff for you little show?" Ophelia asked from the opposite bank. "Surely you hadn't been stringing me along the whole time, no, that would just be too impressive. But it would have been more convincing if you had given up on that arm of yours, you never once let go of it, and that's what gave you away."

Clare glared at Ophelia her face contorting into a snarl. "Did you know? There are offensive fighters and those who excel in tactical defense, obviously you belong in the first category, an attacker, don't you agree? Unfortunately for you attackers are notoriously bad at healing, they can reattach severed limbs but they'll never be able to regenerate a part of the body if it's been lost or destroyed. So when you chose to live the life of a half-human, half-monster, were you thinking about revenge or more concerned with your own survival? That does tend to be the deciding factor in producing an attacker or defender, which was it for you?" she asked.

Clare remembered back to when she asked to be made with Teresa's flesh. "Well either way it's silly to let you keep that arm, you don't really think I'd let you reattach it, because you'd be very wrong indeed." Clare reacted reaching for the severed limb but Ophelia was quicker, impaling the arm with a downward thrust of her sword before Clare could even start to reach. Clare looked up, glaring at Ophelia. "Aw, too bad. Letting me cut off your dominant arm wasn't your greatest idea." Ophelia then tossed it into the air before eviscerating the limb with her sword technique, Clare looked on in horror.

* * *

><p>A figure in black moved slowly through the forest, pausing for a moment, then continuing onwards.<p>

* * *

><p>Clare picked up her claymore and tried in vain to attack Ophelia who blocked with complete and utter ease. "Struggling is pointless." She said. 'I think you'll realize it too if you think about it." Ophelia then moved quickly behind Clare and cut into her back. Clare fell to her knees, dropping her blade. "Hey I won't think less of you if you give up, I didn't think much of you to begin with. Honestly you're barely more of a challenge than that boy you were traveling with, that man however…" Clare reached for her blade again only for it too to be lopped off as Clare gasped at the pain, breathing very heavily with pain and fear. "Alright, why don't you try to pick up your sword now?" Clare looked up now wide eyed with fear. "Why are you trying to stay alive anyways? Got one last thing to do before you die or some kind of survival instinct? Really, why won't you just accept your fate? Look at me, asking like I care! Although…" She said beginning her rippling technique. "…there is one last thing you can do before you die, tell me where that goggled man went off to. See, I'm trying my best to locate him, but I can't seem to find his yoki anywhere, he's vanished, and I'd really like to repay him for what he did to me. But I bet you know where he is don't you?" Clare gritted her teeth. "Not gonna talk eh? Oh well, I'll find him sooner or later anyways. Bye!"<p>

Ophelia began to being down her blade when she was approached from behind by a cloaked figure in black. "I was lured here by the presence of something familiar, but both of you are strangers to me." The figure spoke.

Ophelia grunted. "Who the hell are you?" she asked lowering her blade. "Well no matter, you'll soon find I don't tolerate interruption. For your rudeness you'll die anyway." She said releasing her yoki.

Clare called out to the figure. "Get away! She's dangerous! Run!"

The figure paused. "Huh. I see. It's you."Clare gasped as Ophelia rushed forward to cut the figure in half but bounced back as her blade was deflected by an unknown force.

Ophelia snarled. "How the hell did you just do that? Tell me!"

"Look like things are different now." The figure observed. "Claymores will turn their swords on anyone." Ophelia continued to strike at the figure but was stopped every time by the same force.

Ophelia was puzzled. "What's wrong? I can't even touch her!" she seethed. Opheila activated her technique.

Clare called out again. "Get back quick, her sword!"

Ophelia's blade was once again deflected, as she gasped.

"Your swordsmanship has potential. I imagine your ranking must be in the single digits." Ophelia was taken aback. "But numbers and symbols don't matter out here on the road.

Ophelia observed the blade as she was suddenly engulfed by it, the blade moving too fast for the eye to see. Clare watched with the same astonishment as Ophelia. _"Can't be her! How is she alive? She was one of the enforcers sent to kill Teresa, the former number two! 'Quick-sword Irene'!"_

Eli stopped running for a moment looking behind him. _"What is this? Another yoki? But this feeling… I knew she was still alive! Looks like I got nothing to worry about after all, take care of Teresa's legacy, Irene."_ Eli thought with a small grin as he continued to run on.

* * *

><p><em>One week later…<em>

* * *

><p>Clare dreamed about the day she had watched Teresa being killed and how she thought Eli had awakened and had too been killed. Ophelia's earlier words echoing in her mind.<p>

Clare awoke in a bed. "Where am I?" she asked. She then looked down to her bandaged stump of a right arm, recalling how it had been severed and destroyed. She sat up in her bed looking at her hand. "What's going on?"

The door opened as Clare turned to look at Irene who stood with an armful of fruit. "Your injuries were substantial and reattaching your hand was difficult, I'm sorry but there was no way you could have regenerated your other arm in that condition." She explained.

"You're Irene." Clare said disbelievingly. Irene simply strode forward into the room. "Where did you bring me?" Clare asked. "I don't understand, why are you doing all this?"

Irene walked over to the bed and dumped the fruit in her lap. "No more questions until you've eaten something, you've had no food or water for seven days and it must be starting to take its toll."

"It's been seven days?" Clare got up to move. "What the hell have you done with my sword!?" she asked.

"Sit." Irene ordered.

"I have to get-" Clare began before Irene grabbed Clare by the hair and stuffed her back onto the bed.

"If your life really means that little to you, I wish I'd never gone to the trouble of saving you." She spat holding Clare's head to the mattress. "Now listen to me carefully, the warrior who was chasing you is still alive, she was hurt worse than you were when I found you, but she is not dead. Then there's your arm…" Irene informed looking over to the stump,. "Are you listening? Your weaker hand has become your only hand, if you want to defend yourself you must study how to use it. As you are now I doubt you could even slay a human." Irene let Clare go walking out of the door. "You cannot change things, so accept them."

Clare turned her head into the bed. "Damn it." She muttered. Irene closed the door behind her as she walked out of the hut. "Damn it. Damn it. Damn it." She muttered over and over pounding the mattress softly.

Irene stood outside, claymore in hand as she faced a tree. She cut it thought cleanly, then continued to cut the falling pieces before they hit the ground, the remaining wood being little more than bits and pieces of timber. Irene recalled Clare as she was a little girl with Teresa and that man in the cloak. "That little girl is all grown up." She whispered to herself.

Irene watched as the sun began to set and heard the door open and close. "Did you finish your food?"

"Yes." Clare confirmed "I really had no idea how hungry was until I started eating. Everything was wonderful. I appreciate it."

Irene turned to look at Clare. "You knew my name as soon as you saw me, what else do you know?"

"I know everything." Clare explained. "Everything that had to do with Teresa."

"And that would include Priscilla, am I right?" Irene asked.

"Yes." Clare replied. "In your time, a young Priscilla rose quickly to number two, but she drew too deeply on her yoki and awakened during the mission, she killed Teresa as well as the other enforcers and vanished. I never thought that Priscilla would have left any one of you alive."

"I was surprised as well." Irene admitted. "Who would have guessed that scared little girl would have become a warrior, whose blood do you have inside you? Teresa's. You were lucky to escape with your life, it was your last chance to live as a human, to forget about all this, now you're looking for Priscilla aren't you?"

"Thank you for caring for me." Clare responded avoiding the question. "Now give me my sword and I'll be going."

"Forget about vengeance girl. Priscilla is more powerful than any opponent you have ever encountered. No living warrior could ever hope to challenge her, you are at a greater disadvantage than those who are half-yoma, if you do have Teresa's blood you're a quarter. You're inferior to her in every way."

"If you're finished I'd like my sword back." Clare responded.

"Look at me." Irene said removing her cloak, revealing her missing left arm which was clean from shoulder to waist. "I was a higher rank than you the time I tried to defeat Priscilla and look what she left me with. In that fight, I realized no matter how we struggled, Priscilla had awakened with such power we could never bring her down. I ran. I let everyone believe I was dead and chose a home far from the Organization, I have lived here suppressing my yoki ever since. I've hidden it for so many years I doubt any of our comrades could detect it now."

"You've given up fighting?" Clare asked. "Why? Your swordsmanship is still superb, even if you do only have one arm."

Irene raised her sword to her face looking at it. "I suppose I'm afraid, I have never escaped that terror I felt that day, you were there, you should know."

Clare paused for a moment. "I was there. I do know." With that she turned and walked away.

"Wait." Irene said stopping Clare. "What is driving you?"

"Teresa is a part of me." Clare answered. "And not just the blood flowing in my veins, I once lost a family, my ability to speak, even the will to live, Teresa gave those things back to me. Teresa and…" she paused. "Everything I've ever known came from Teresa and what she sacrificed. She gave her life so that I could have the opportunity to live a normal human existence. But I wasn't strong enough; I couldn't just forget what had happened that day and live the life for me Teresa wanted me to live."

Irene closed her eyes. "I understand, and I offer you my help." Irene walked over to the woodpile against the shack. "If you must go against Priscilla, you're willingness to fight her is the only thing that will qualify you to do so. Now…" she said putting her blade in the ground. "You face a difficult decision, seek your revenge, or survive." Irene reached into the pile pulling out Clare's claymore. "Forgive me, but I don't believe I've ever asked you your name."

"My name is Clare." she answered as Irene threw the blade to her.

"Very well then Clare, your instruction in the quick-sword will begin in the morning." Irene informed.

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile…<em>

* * *

><p>The rain in the mountains heavily poured down, a broken and wounded Ophelia crawled her way on the ground. "It hurts…" she muttered to herself. "Oh God, brother where are you?" she whispered quietly. "Help me brother, please, I need you, you said you'd protect me. Well, I need you here with me now." She continued to sob on the ground in the mud. "Where are you? Why did you leave me? You promised… you promised me!" Ophelia clenched the ground in frustration. "That bitch… she won't get away with this." Ophelia continued to mutter her emotions pouring from her. "Brother, what brother, what am I talking about? Like I care about some weakling human who let himself get killed with a fucking smile on his face, like I give a damn about that lousy worthless son of a bitch!" She continued to seethe releasing her yoki as her body began to morph. "Fuck you…fuck YOU…FUCK YOU! FUUUCK YOOOU!" she screamed releasing her yoki in a bright burst.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile…<em>

* * *

><p>Clare and Irene continued to train with the quick-sword when Clare began to morph again. "That's enough for today! Stop!" Clare panted as she sat on the ground heaving breaths. "The key to the quick-sword is isolating your yoki in just one arm. You must allow your entire arm to become awakened, it requires nothingness than an iron will, and it will take a strong mind. The amount of concentration needed to control an awakened arm is tremendous."<p>

"Is that so?" Clare spat. "Then how come you haven't broken a sweat the whole time we've been training?"

"So are you giving up? Have you had all you can take?" Irene asked.

Clare raised her sword. "Not a chance, we just started. I'm ready, let's go."

"Then get back on your feet, only in battle can you discover your limits and you must learn how much power to release into your arm." Irene instructed.

Clare raised her arm as she began anew.

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile…<em>

* * *

><p>Ophelia awoke to a bright day after the rain. <strong>"How interesting."<strong> She said aloud to herself. **"I can't** **put my finger on it, but I feel better than I have in a long time. I can barely even remember why I was so upset, and I'm hungry, odd, I'm never hungry. But somehow I'm in the mood for innards."**

* * *

><p><em>Nightfall…<em>

* * *

><p>Clare and Irene continued training, Clare trying her hardest to keep up with Irene, who hadn't even broken a sweat from their engagements. Irene frowned as Clare continued to strike back. <em>"She approaching her limit."<em> Clare set her claymore in the ground and knelt heaving breaths from the exertion of her fighting. "That's enough for one day, you should wash up and get a little rest." Irene suggested.

"No. Not yet. I'm not tired. I can keep going." Clare protested trying to stand but falling back to her knees from exhaustion.

"You're finished for today, don't strain yourself. You haven't properly recovered from your injuries." Irene reprimanded. "You must never force your training, in learning this technique rest and practice are equally important." Clare said nothing but stood up and walked off. _"She becoming more aware of her limits, her determination is clear. Still…"_

Clare removed her clothing and set it on the shore of a nearby lake, then she walked into the water and stood there, observing the environment around her. _"A lake surrounded by mountains, the perfect place for someone who doesn't want to be found."_

Clare finished washing herself and put her clothes back on walking back to Irene's hut she was surprised to find Irene sitting down outside, a small warm fire roaring before her. Irene looked to Clare as she approached. "Ah, a good fit. It seems we're very close in size." Irene observed as Clare wore Irene's older uniform.

Clare looked to the tunic she was wearing then back to Irene. "This is yours from back then, isn't it?"

Yes. That's right." Irene answered. "It's missing a sleeve, but still, it's in far better condition than yours, consider it a gift, now sit." Irene threw an apple to Clare. "Eat., I know you're not hungry, even so you need to replenish your strength."

Clare looked at the fruit then bit into it and looked to Irene, she observed as the old warrior silently sat, closing her eyes. "You haven't changed at all, you look the same as you did then."

Irene raised a brow. "That shouldn't surprise you, because of our yoma blood we grow but never age, humans do. Unless we die in battle, or turn into yoma, our bodies never change, if Teresa were alive today she'd look just as she did the day she died." Irene paused. "You feel responsible for her death , do you not? And you're not entirely wrong, in the time that you traveled together Teresa's skills as a warrior naturally weakened, she allowed her mind to stay from her purpose, her death was the result." Clare closed her eyes and lowered her head in small shame. "However, I think she found a brief form of happiness, in the short amount of time she spent with you she was able to see herself from a different perspective." Clare perked her head a little at this. "All she had ever known was the fear she commanded from the rest of us, but that little girl adored her, and she began to accept that. The time she spent with you must have been peaceful, I doubt she would have changed her final days." Irene took another pause. "The lives we lead are lonely ones Clare, you reminded her of what it felt like to be human, Teresa died protecting one of the only people who loved her, and the only ones she loved in return, you gave her a better death than she expected." Irene looked to the stars above as Clare began to weep at this small realization. Clare had hoped that in some way she had made Teresa's life better just had Teresa had made her life better and always knew in a way that she did, but it felt good to hear it come from someone else. Clare also began to think back on Eli, after she had become a warrior she had realized some time ago that Eli was one as well, but Eli had lived far longer than Clare or even Teresa, and began to wonder what loved ones he had lost over his many years and if that was why he had tried to warn her of Priscilla, because the last thing he wanted was to see another one of the people he cared about die.

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile…<em>

* * *

><p>A lone warrior walked among the ruins of Gonal, she bore a star shaped scar where her left eye should be and wore the regulation uniform of a warrior. She looked about her at the carnage left in the wake of the being and Ophelia, then looked towards the mountains in the distance and began to walk towards them.<p>

* * *

><p><em>The next morning…<em>

* * *

><p>Clare and Irene continued to train in similar fashion as the day before, Irene with quickness in between blows flipped a pebble up towards Clare. She reacted slicing the stone in midair before exhaustion one again took hold and Clare stuck her sword into the ground and knelt gasping for breath. "Good, you're beginning to get a better sense of your limitations." Irene informed. "Don't ever lose sight of your boundaries."<p>

Clare looked up to Irene. "How close? How close am I to mastering the quick-sword? How long until I match your skill?" she asked.

Irene closed her eyes. "The quick-sword requires incredible control, and great mental fortitude, you must be willing to maintain composure over the most grueling circumstances. I thought the technique would suit you well, I was mistaken. There's a constant fire inside of your heart, a passion you are not able to control. You will never learn the quick-sword, you cannot master it. It is beyond your capability, you're strong but your mind is easily influenced by yoki, train all you want you'll never last over a minute." Clare scowled and gritted her teeth. "Your speed and force will never reach one-tenth of my own, in short it would be pointless of us to continue with your training, you can try all you like but it won't change that fact that you lack the necessary will power, you've accomplished all that you can." Irene reopened her eyes. "Stand up." She ordered. Clare complied and in a flash Clare felt as what little of what remained of her right arm was severed.

Clare cringed at the pain. "Why? What did you do?" she asked.

"Your wound had already completely healed, I merely took the liberty of creating a new one." Irene said simple before placing her blade in between her armpit. Irene gritted her teeth and in another flash cut off the arm, watching it as it fell to the ground.

"Oh God, Irene." Clare called out concerned.

"A parting gift." Irene said with a slight cringe, now little more than a torso with legs. "You stand no chance without it."

Clare widened her eyes. "What? What are you saying? Hurry, reattach it before it's too late!"

"That arm is your one and only path to the quick-sword!" Irene said, "Without it you have no way of killing Priscilla."

Clare shook her head. "No, this is madness!"

"I'm no longer a warrior so you have more need of it than I." Irene replied. "May it bring you better luck, it's been a very long time since I've needed it."

"But…" Clare began.

"Accept it, it's the only way you can survive, and the only way Teresa can be avenged." Irene said.

"Teresa…" Clare said, then looked to Irene and nodded, grabbing the arm and with her yoki fusing the limb to herself.

* * *

><p><em>Nightfall…<em>

* * *

><p>Irene stood on a cliff overlooking her valley as she recalled events only hours earlier.<p>

Clare left Irene's hut equipped with Irene's old uniform and arm. Looking back to her Clare spoke. "When I'm done I'll return this to you, that means we both have to stay alive."

Irene chuckled. "Well, I won't hold my breath, but I'll be here." Clare paused. "Don't worry I've survived this long." Clare nodded walking off and out of the valley.

Irene looked on into the valley with thought. _"Goodbye, 'Clare'."_

I sensed the presence of another." A voice sounded from behind Irene. "Has she gone?"

"Yes." Irene answered. "She left here several hours ago."

"Ah, well no matter." The voice continued. "It was you that I came here for in the first place. For many years now you have kept your yoki nigh undetectable, until now. Using the quick-sword was a mistake. Such a powerful display of yoki left little doubt of your location, you were easy to find."

Irene 's gaze turned to her left slightly looking over her shoulder. "If you've come to kill me, may I at least ask for your name?"

The warrior with the star-shaped scar paused, then answered. "My name is Rafaela, I'm ranked number five in the Organization."

Irene turned around fully to face her. "And how did you earn that scar? Was it from before you became a warrior, or after?"

"It should make no difference to you now." Rafaela replied raising her sword. "You don't have more than a few moments left to live. Deserter Irene, for your crimes against the Organization, your life is forfeit. I was warned to watch out for your remaining arm, but I see you have none. I guess it's not your lucky day."

"True, even with both arms I'm no match, not against the new number five. But why? With the amount of power you possess, what's holding you back from advancement?" Irene asked.

"Another pointless question." Rafaela commented. 'For one who is about to lose her head." Rafaela raised her sword…

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile…<em>

* * *

><p>Clare was walking through the woods than paused, taking a look back in Irene's direction. "What just happened?" she asked, her new right arm pulsed. "My right arm, Irene…" Clare suddenly stood on guard as she felt a malicious yoki all around her. There was crackling in the distance as branches were snapped. "What…what was that?" The breaking of branches got louder and closer. "Something big, and it sounds like it's pretty close."<p>

The breaking grew louder before a large hand gripped the tree trunk a few meters from Clare, who turned to look only to see the face of Ophelia, but something was much different than how she was before. **"My what a coincidence, fancy that. Two old friends meeting way out here."** Ophelia noticed Clare's new limb. **"Oh, I do love your new arm, wherever did you get it?"**

Clare looked on in horror. "Ophelia…"

"**Now that hurts."** Ophelia said. **"After all we've been through? Aren't you even a little happy to see me? Come one, I thought we were like sisters. Didn't you?"** Ophelia asked as her body came into the light she had light green skin, golden eyes and greenish hair. Blades grew from her back and from the end of her hair and her elongated arms ended in sharp claws. Her lower body was a long, scaled, snake's tail.

"My God!" Clare uttering in terror at the sight. "An awakened being!"

Ophelia widened her eyes. **"What, do you see one? Where is it? I didn't catch its scent."** She said craning her elongated neck around her. Ophelia's eyes came to rest back on Clare as Clare shifted in her place. **"Oh , I see you're just playing games, like I can't sense an awakened being. But never mind all that, you wouldn't happen to have anything on you I could eat, would you? I'm unbelievably hungry, perhaps you can spare a little meat? A taste of viscera would be nice. What do you say? Not human flesh of course, heavens no, I wouldn't want that, it's not as if I'm an awakened being, just in the mood for something bloody. No, nothing human, but something close does sounds divine."** Ophelia paused looking down at Clare. **"Come to think of it, the flesh of a half-human such as yourself would be delicious."** With lightning quickness Ophelia reached out with her claws. Clare blocked just in time as Ophelia frowned. **"Something is different, I believe you've improved since we last met."** Clare knocked the claw away and dogged as Ophelia pounced. **"Come on! What's a little bit of innerds between such good friends!?"**

Ophelia pounced again on Clare's location and attacked with her claws in a barrage, Clare knocked the attacks away one after another. **"What have you been doing since I saw you last? You're not nearly as slow As I remember, it's like you're a different person! Tell me where you've been!"** Clare only grunted as she continued to hold off the onslaught. **"Fine! Every woman is entitled to her secrets!"** Ophelia lunged with her face at Clare's abdomen, Clare barely getting her blade in between Ophelia's teeth and her organs in time. Ophelia bit off a small chunk of Clare's arm and Ophelia then backed off as she swung her claymore. **"That's strange, it doesn't taste very good at all."** She said turning her head to the side and spitting out the small chunk.

Ophelia whipped her tailand sent Clare into a nearby lake. As Clare came up for air, Ophelia pushed her back underwater and pinned Clare on the lakebed. **"How unusual, I wonder if her innards would taste any better, I'm sorry I hate to be such a picky eater, but it's quite a specific craving, ever had one before? Something tells me I'd prefer to eat your guts fresh out of your squirming body, but I'm sure I'll still enjoy then once you're dead!"** Clare struggled underneath the grip as her air supply began to run. **"I would imagine it must be pretty embarrassing for a warrior like yourself to be drowned to death, it's almost comical. Well, maybe not so comical to you."** Ophelia widened her eyes as she suddenly began to focus her gaze on the water's reflection. **"What's this? No… what's going on here?"** She looked down at the water and saw a huge snake-like monster with large yellow eyes stare back. **"Can that be me? But… how? When? Just who the hell is that!" **she asked diving under the water looking at Clare's face before coming back out. **"No…this can't be happening! I don't deserve this, I can't, I can't have awakened! It's not possible!"** Ophelia screeched in agony the sound reverberating across the water "**Why? What did I do to deserve this? All I ever wanted to do was avenge my big brother!" **she continued to bellow tears running down her face. **"How could I turn into this monster? I always been so careful! None of this would have happened if it weren't for that one-horned bitch! It's all her fault!"** Ophelia bellowed remembering with a great agony the terror of the one-horned demon.

Clare sensing an opening struck with the quick-sword, freeing her and removing Ophelia's right arm. Ophelia stood in the lake now facing Ophelia with determination in her eyes. Ophelia looked to her severed arm as it dripped purple blood. **"My arm, bitch! What the hell did you do that for? What have I ever done to you? Why did you do that? Tell me!" **Ophelia narrowed her eyes. **"It's all your fault, you did this! You and that bitch with the invisible sword!**" She said as spike began to grow on her head and along her body. **"If you hadn't been around then my brother would be alive right now, and I never would have ended up like this. I'll rip you apart for what you've done!" **Ophelia charged and Clare using the quick-sword technique created a water wall, and in another instant cut off Ophelia's other arm. **"Damn you! Who the hell do you think you are?"**

"My name is Clare." She answered. "Rank number forty-seven in the Organization, created with Teresa's flesh and blood and bearer of Irene's right arm, it is my mission to take the head of Priscilla, the one-horned awakened being, and if I must I'll tear out your heart to make sure I accomplish my goal."

Ophelia snarled and unleashed a volley of scales upon Clare as they shot out from her skin, Clare blocked them with the quick-sword and passing by landed a cut on Ophelia. Ophelia snarled again. **"Damn you bitch!"** she screeched shooting out her scales again only for Clare to block them and slice Ophelia again as she passed by, Ophelia spraying purple blood and falling over into the water.

Clare turned around to strike again but dropped her sword as her arm pulsed. _"Did I misjudge my boundaries? No, it's because I'm not used to Irene's arm!"_

Ophelia rose for the water. **"I see! Well that explains your new limb doesn't it? I knew I'd seen it somewhere, Irene's arm! Did you kill her for it? Or did she just give you the damn thing? That's how you were able to improve so quickly!"** Clare picked up her claymore. **"Are you completely unleashing your yoki into your arm? Then I guess all you have to do is keep a grip on your sword, and try not to awaken of course. Does that just about cover it?"** Clare was silent. **"So dangerous, isn't it? Just look at you! You can't even stop shaking how can you ever hope to control that arm?"** Ophelia then retreated her head into her own body, moving down as a bulge until she got to the base of her tail, the end convulsing before Ophelia emerged from the end, appearing far more human than she had a moment ago. "There." Ophelia began her voice sound much more human "Everything that remains of my humanity is now right here, in other words this is where I'm the most vulnerable." Clare was shocked by what she had just seen as she stood with her mouth slightly agape. "Now, how about a little game?" Ophelia offered. "Doesn't that sound like fun? All you have to do is chop your way through my entire body until you get down here, if you reach me before the yoki takes control, you win. But if you awaken, I do, and you weren't strong enough to fight the one-horned monster anyway, understand? Are we clear on the rules? In the event that I lose, as per your request I'll even allow you to tear my heart out."

The new tail end of Ophelia charged at Clare who began mincing the body of Ophelia slowly but surly as she used the quick-sword to obliterate any trace of her body. _"How foolish."_ Ophelia thought watching Clare. _"She could have come straight for my weak spot instead of playing along."_ Ophelia watched as Clare continued along the path of her body. _"Why is she pushing herself? She's already come close to awakening her body, doesn't she have any consideration for who she'll leave behind if she fails? Wait… what made me think that?" _Ophelia looked towards the sky as she remembered the day her brother was killed. _"Oh, I remember, brother. He tried to protect me from her by sacrificing himself, attacking a powerful enemy alone, knowing there's no hope for victory. It's so… pointless" _Ophelia thought before she impaled Clare with slight tentacles grown from the wound Clare had just been inflicting. "So, seems you aren't strong enough, you barely made it half-way."

Clare gritted her teeth. "Damn it, you bitch. But why? Why did…" Clare looked down to her right arm. "My arm, it won't… my arm won't move!" Clare muttered.

Clare fell to one knee. Ophelia bellowed to her. "Are you just giving up now!? What if you die? Have you thought about what happens to everyone who depends on you, if I kill you right here!?" Clare opened her eyes as she remembered, Irene, Eli, Teresa, and Raki. Clare began her attack again with a new zest. Ophelia looked impassively at the warrior. "Oh what the hell, if you want it some and get it." Clare began to increase her speed. "Huh, maybe that was a mistake." Ophelia closed her eyes as Clare finished off the last bit of Ophelia's snake body. 'That was quite impressive, I was wrong about you, you played by the rules, and won." She said now hanging on to Clare by her shoulder, only a torso now. "Though you still may not be a match for the one horned demon, it's truly infuriating. I despise people like you who put their own lives in jeopardy for some glorious, hopeless cause, now aren't you going to tear my heart out? That is the honor you were fighting me for, is it not?"

Clare looked down at Ophelia. "No, it's not." Ophelia smirked as Clare rammed her claymore through her body.

Ophelia looked up to Clare. "You're fighting in my place, so if you lose, you won't be forgiven." Ophelia grinned one last time before her body fell back into the water. Ophelia thought back one last time to her brother. _"That's why brother was smiling. Because he knew, that by dying he'd been able to protect me." _Tears began to flow from her eyes as she sank to the bottom. _"And all this time, I thought he was weak, I was wrong, I'm sorry. I'm coming to join you, so we can play again, brother."_

Clare stared at the body for a moment then walked out of the water and down the mountain. _"I promise, Irene, Eli, Teresa, Raki... Ophelia. Your sacrifices will not have been in vain."_

* * *

><p><strong>Alright I know, I know. I've been gone for a while and there's not much in the way of originality from the plot and Eli and Raki are now off the map and God knows where they are now. But don't worry faithful readers (the few of you that there are) I plan on making the next chapter more EliRaki orientated, like where they were when Ophelia went crazy and whatnot and what their dynamic is going to be now that it's just the two of them. Also since I was gone for a while and that being due to nothing short of my own indolence, I will try and get the next one up before x-mas. So until then stay golden. Reviews are appreciated.**

**P.S. Sorry about the grammar as i've said before not my strongest area, more of a plot and story-teller kind of guy.**


	9. Ch 9: And Then There Were Two

**Blah… yeah.**

**I don't own Claymore.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: And Then There Were Two<p>

_A few days earlier…_

* * *

><p>Raki tossed and turned in his sleep, his face contorting as he watched nightmares flash by in his subconscious. He watched Clare being struck down by the Claymore with a wild look in her eye, grinning like a psychopath as she eviscerated Clare into pieces of flesh and blood. "Nooo!" Raki shouted as he sat up. He then opened his eyes and looked around him, he saw there was no sign of Clare or the Claymore, he wasn't even outside. He put his hand to his side and leaned on it looking down and felt the soft plushness of a bed. Raki checked his surroundings once more, trying to get his bearings. He found he was in a small wooden cabin, wooden furniture decorated the small space and as he tried to move to get a better look around him, he felt a pain in his chest and looked down and found bandages around his chest. His eyes widened as he remembered the injury he got from the sadistic warrior, as Raki touched his bandages he realized something else as he moved his legs under the covers. He was naked.<p>

The door across the room then opened as an elderly woman walked in, her brows rising as she noticed Raki staring back at her. "Well, well, well. Look who's finally awake." She said, her voice surprisingly sweet and smooth.

"Uh… hi?" Raki said unsure of how to act in the position he was in.

"You must be thirsty." The woman continued walking over to a table and grabbing a pitcher and cup, pouring in the water and walking over to him. Raki quickly pulled up the covers more to cover his exposed body. The old woman smirked at his sudden movement. "You needn't worry lad, I won't try to have my way with you."

Raki blushed. "It's not that…" he said turning his head away slightly embarrassed.

The woman set the cup and pitcher down on a nightstand next to the bed. "You needn't worry Raki, I was only teasing." She said patting his cheek in a grandmotherly sort of way.

Raki scratched his head in embarrassment and took the cup taking a long sip, before widening his eyes and sucking down the liquid and reaching for the pitcher with a fervor, quickly pouring and drinking in quick succession as he felt his dire thirst subside, gasping for breath in-between sips. The woman grabbed the pitcher out of Raki's hands and moved away slightly as Raki reached for it in desperation. "Easy lad, you'll drown yourself at that rate. Take slower sips." She reprimanded before he nodded and she gave the pitcher back, making sure he complied.

After emptying the pitcher and catching his breath, Raki turned to the woman. "Excuse me, I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but who are you? Where am I? And how did you know my name?"

"Alright. Agatha, my house, and your uncle told me." She replied answering the questions in order

"M-my u-uncle?" Raki stuttered questioningly.

"Yes, he brought you here all bandaged up. But it's fairly obvious he's not related to you." Agatha informed with a smile. Raki tensed up at her knowing look and she chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't ask about things that aren't any my business."

Raki eased a little then looked down to his injuries and back to Agatha. "Where is he?"

The ivory haired man in question stood in front of a stump with a log placed on top and an ax laying nearby. Stiffening his index and middle fingers, he placed them down on the wood and pushed, causing the wood to split down the middle. Raki limped over to Eli, still in pain from his injuries but managing to make his way over.

Eli stopped his work and turned his head to Raki. "So, finally up are we?"

Raki nodded. "Good, you still need at least two days rest though, you nearly died."

"Eli. I need to know something." Raki started taking a pause. "Are…are you a Claymore?"

The old warrior was silent turning his entire body now to the boy, looking straight into his eyes as the light from the sun cause a bright glare to shine off his goggles. Raki felt the atmosphere tense as a gust of wind blew past the trees, then Eli did a most unusual thing… he laughed.

"Hahahahaha! Are you serious? Raki, my boy, I think you're not feeling too well, I mean me? A Claymore? They are called 'silver-eyed witches' after all, it's a total girls' club. What would make you think-" Eli said before noticing that Raki's face was stern and serious.

"It would all make sense." Raki said now more sure of his theory. "I mean a random man who Clare just happens to trust nigh unconditionally? Silvery-white hair and dark goggles that conceal your eyes? And that enormous blade? Being able to fight off that girl who even Clare couldn't handle? And who ever heard of a 'yoma-expert' anyways?"

Eli's cheery air evaporated and his face dropped. "You…you're smarter than I gave you credit for Raki." He said his voice sounding different than before…almost darker. "I guess there's no point hiding it anymore especially since we are going to need to rely on each other. Yes, I am a former warrior of the Organization, the last male Claymore from the days when they used to make males."

Raki's eyes widened. "You mean..?"

"That's right. The Organization way back when made guys as well as girl warriors, but they stopped after finding that males were much more prone to 'awakening'." Eli informed.

Raki looked puzzled. "'Awakening'?"

Eli turned back to the blocks of wood and placed a log on the stump while continuing to speak. "Ah, that's right. You don't know. You know that Claymores are human-yoma hybrids, right?" Raki nodded once. "And you remember that big yoma back in the town right?" Raki nodded once more. "Do you see where I'm going with this?" Raki's continued puzzled look caused Eli to sigh. "That yoma, that 'voracious eater', that 'awakened one' was a former warrior." He finished splitting the wood with his fingers again.

Raki eyes widened, he remembered what Clare had told him about "crossing over" and not being able to "come back" if she used too much of her yoma power. How Clare had to kill another warrior for this very reason.

Eli continued. "As you may or may not already know, Claymores use the powers of yoma against yoma themselves to defeat them. However, the more power that is expanded the closer the warrior becomes to not being able to control their own power anymore, and when this loss of control happens it is called awakening, it usually happens by a warrior exhausting huge ammounts of energy, or some extreme emotional response." Raki listened intently as he was processing the information. "You might remember how you saved such a fate from Clare back in Rabona, how she wanted Galk to slay her before she couldn't control it anymore? That was the fate she was trying to avoid, and did thanks to you." Raki felt a small sense of pride at the comment, and Eli could tell. "Go ahead and be proud, you deserve it. Such a thing is almost completely unheard of especially considering Clare's condition." Eli paused after finishing his explanation. "Anyways, now you know." He said flippantly, as if he had explained little more than the weather.

Raki paused before blurting out. 'Wait! That's it?" he asked. "Now I know? That's everything?"

"Why? Were you expecting a song and dance or something?" The former warrior asked.

"Wha- no! What about why you've been hiding yourself all this time? Why is your sword all weird looking? What are you planning?" Raki asked as his questions poured out.

"Well…to start with I hide simply because it's easier for me to move around if people don't know who or what I really am." He answered splitting another log. "The sword is all 'weird looking' because it's made from the bits and pieces of claymores of other warriors and reforged back into a single blade, the runes on said blade are words of the written language before this one, which died out about eighty years ago. As for what my plans are…well honestly even I'm not exactly sure, I kinda make it up as I go along." Eli said answering all his questions.

"Okay…what about that healing you did to Clare back in Rabona?" Raki asked.

"Yoki manipulation. I happen to be very good at it." He replied.

Raki was stunned, was it really that easy? All this time? All the question avoiding? And now he was in the loop? Completely? It couldn't be that easy. So he asked. "Why did you hide all of that all this time if you were just going to tell me everything I wanted to know?"

"You weren't ready to know it back then. Now you are. Simple as that." Eli replied.

"There must be something you're not telling me." The boy protested, almost disappointed with how easy the last load of information had come.

"Perhaps. But if there is such information you aren't ready for it and hence I'm not telling you." The warrior replied.

Raki pouted, then opened his eyes as something dawned on him. "Wait. How old are you?"

"I lost track around one-hundred twenty. But by now I'd say I'm about one eighty." Eli speculated.

"Okay if you are that old, how have you resisted awakening like you say happens to all other warriors? Like you say what's going to happen to…Clare." He said her name quieter than he intended.

"Who says I'm not?" Eli asked drawing a look from Raki as Eli continued splitting the logs. "The best I can figure is this…I am already awakened, just not fully." He explained. After Raki remained silent for a moment Eli continued on. "It's like this…I almost became one of those monsters, several times as a matter of fact, but I've managed to draw back each time, and each time I've gotten better control of my yoki and have lengthened my expected time of true awakening." Raki paused before smiling a little. If what Eli said was true then when he drew Clare back from awakening, he not only helped to make her stronger but helped to get better control over her inner yoma. "However this doesn't mean that I'll never awaken." Raki's face dropped again. "No one can stave off the yoma inside forever, and while not to brag I have staved it off for much, much longer than any other warrior, make no mistake I will one day awaken, truly and completely."

Raki was silent as he thought over what he had just been told. If Eli had been able to stave it off this long then there was still a big hope that Clare would be able to do the same. But the fact that Eli had basically just informed him that he was a monster waiting to burst forth, that all Claymores were, Raki began to understand why the old warrior's mannerisms seemed so… odd. Having such a huge burden looming over him for so long, Raki wasn't sure he'd be completely sane either.

Deciding to change the subject Raki asked a different question. "So… what now?"

"Now we pay back the kindness of the elderly through manual labor. Now that's enough questions, go back inside and get some rest." Eli ordered and the younger man complied.

* * *

><p>The next few days passed slowly, Eli continued working manual labor around the field doing in hours what would have taken a team of men weeks to do themselves. As the hours passed Raki gained back his old strength and his wound finished healing, leaving a nasty looking scar where there had been previously clean healthy skin. Finally though Raki was able to move around with almost no pain at all. Eli having compensated Agatha and her husband Rohan, through his manual labor bowed before the two, motioning Raki to do the same.<p>

Agatha smiled as Rohan's arm draped over her shoulder. "Don't be strangers now." She said.

"Yeah, God forbid you never come back and we never have the miracle field worker again." Rohan added with a laugh, Agatha elbowed his ribs.

Eli smiled kindly to the couple. "Don't worry we may come back and visit again someday."

Raki also smiled. "Yeah, count on it. And next time I'll show you what I can do with pitchfork!" he added.

Agatha and Rohan laughed. "Alright then!" Rohan said ruffling the boy's hair.

The duo turned and walked away waving goodbye as the couple returned the gesture until the little home had disappeared out of sight.

* * *

><p><em>Later that day…<em>

* * *

><p>The night fell as the stars in the sky shone brightly in the dark. Eli feeling no need to hide himself much more took off his eyewear , Raki took notice. <em>"Silver eyes…and so bright, brighter than Clare's."<em> He thought looking over to Eli who was poking at the fire. "Hey Eli…"

"Yeah?"

"Hav-" Raki paused for a moment wondering if he should ask. "Have you…ever been in love?"

"…what?" Eli deadpanned, making Raki feeling like a complete idiot for asking.

"Forget it." Raki said turning his head back to the fire, his cheeks burning and not from the heat of the flame.

The old warrior raised a brow. "Is this about what happened back in the woods between-"

"I said 'Forget it'!" Raki snapped.

The silver haired man was silent for a moment. "She likes you, you know." Raki snapped his head up to Eli who simply smiled his little knowing smile. "It's true, trust me I know. She tries and hides her emotions but to me she might as well be shouting it from the mountain tops." Raki actually widened his eyes, he had suspected, and, despite himself, even hoped she might feel some degree of feeling for him, and he was almost sure of it after what happened a few days ago. But for someone, anyone really, to come out and confirm it, it just felt so much more real to him now. Eli watched as the thoughts raced through his mind. "Yes, she's become quite attached to you. You've grown on her like moss on a stone." He stopped again deciding enough with the teasing. "But I digress, that wasn't your question, was it? Yes, I have."

The younger man looked to his elder. "Really?" Eli nodded once. "With who?"

Eli crossed one leg over another then rested his arms on the leg and finally rested his chin on his hands. "It's actually not much different from the story you and Clare have. Genders switched, I saved the one I loved from a bit of trouble she had way back when. She never said it but I think she fell for me right then and there, but I hadn't even the slightest interest in her, but she insisted on following me everywhere I went. At first, I was annoyed, even threatened to kill her if she followed, and she did anyways and after awhile she started to grow on me. I couldn't help myself and before I knew it, I loved her too, we were even married." Eli finished speaking as he leaned down and buried his face into his resting arm.

Raki watched as he stopped talking, he sounded like he was happy with this woman, but there was also something behind his voice, a sorrowful, mournful, even guilt ridden tone. Realizing this was a touchy subject the younger man decided to talk about something else, Eli would talk when he was ready and besides at the very least the story gave him hope for his and Clare's relationship. "So… you're a warrior right? Clare and those others mentioned ranks, what rank were you back when you were still a Claymore?"

Eli's voice changed back into his more cheerful voice at the change of the subject. "I was the number six when I first joined up, one of the very last batch of male warriors. I wasn't placed so high because of my battle prowess or my great amount of raw yoma power. I was simply a master of yoki manipulation and sensing, that was all. I even replaced this one warrior who was the number six before I was, and he was not pleased about it. At the time I really didn't care much of what any of the other warriors thought of me, back then I was a stone cold exterminator of yoma, an efficient killing machine. After a while I worked my way up to rank number two, shortly thereafter I was number one, then I was to be 'retired' and that pretty much sums up my time with the Organization." Eli finished recounting his time with the Organization.

He younger man paused for a moment then asked another question. "So… what's it like? To become a Claymore I mean."

"Well, to start off they strap you to a table and crack open your sternum while you're still awake and conscious enough to feel everything as they stuff the flesh of yoma into you like you were a bird being prepared for dinner. Then they sow you back up and you spend a few days in an absolute nightmare of pain as your body adjusts to the immense physical changes and trauma it had been forced to endure. Supposing you had survived all that, you then spend a good deal of time training day in and day out with the other hopefuls of your batch so that a few of you might be deemed useful. After that at the final test you are forced to take down a few yoma and the ones who are left standing get promoted to actual warriors and are given their number, equipment, uniform, emblem, sometimes even a name if they hadn't one already." The warrior explained, summarizing the equivalent of months of borderline torture in a few sentences.

Raki could barely believe what he had just heard and summarized his own shock simply. "Oh."

"Yeah. 'Oh'." Eli deadpanned. "In layman's terms it's Hell with a side of death sentence."

Raki then remembered that Clare had in fact been friends with another Claymore. "Did you ever have any friends with the other Claymores? The other males?"

Eli smirked. "Well…actually…"

* * *

><p><em>Many Years Ago…<em>

* * *

><p>Elijah was sitting down as he was passed another time by a warrior who was walking in elipses around the training field they were in. Said field consisted mostly of dirt and was sparsely covered with grass, blades were stuck in the ground all around, ready to be picked and be wielded.<p>

Elijah continued watching as his fellow warrior, a man with a slimmer body build than most other Claymores and with mullet hairstyle, continued to pace around. "Are you going to sit down or what?"

The warrior looked to him than the other warriors situated around, the numbers one through seven had all been gathered here to do evaluations since apparently the yoma attack rate was at a current low. "I can't stand it Elijah, only our 'King' hasn't arrived and I'm ready to test my skills against him."

"Come now, Caesar. What are you going to do against the 'King'?" another man taunted.

Caesar turned to the speaker, a man with wavy light blonde hair parted down the middle and a goatee. Caesar stepped up to him. "I dunno Chronos, maybe I'd take his crown."

A man a little ways away laughed. "Ha! As if! Even Rigardo can't match the 'king', what makes you, the number five think that you could take the one."

Caesar smiled. "You're right Lars, maybe I should become the number four first." He said looking directly into Chronos' eyes, the latter returning with a cool gaze.

Rigardo, a warrior with silvery hair that fell over his eyes, scoffed at the mention of his superior. "You don't know that for sure, Isley and I have never crossed swords."

A man with short blonde hair, by the name of Dauf stood up next to Rigardo. "And neither have we, Rigardo! Maybe we should fix that." He grunted gripping his claymore.

Elijah sighed. "Honestly, 'Beast', 'Berserker', and 'King'. You three always seem to be at each other's throats. We're all fellow warriors here, and the Organization gave our numbers for a reason."

Lars snorted. "If that's true then why are you such a high rank Elijah? You got less yoki than me and yet you knocked me down to number seven. Maybe I want my number back, what makes you think you deserve it more than me?"

"Because I can sense yoki faster than you from a thousand leagues then you could standing a hundred feet away." Elijah replied, ignoring the snarl from Lars. "That's why I got my nickname right? 'Wide-eye' Elijah, I see everything."

Caesar smiled and walked over to him slapping him on the shoulders. "That's telling them Elijah."

Chronos sighed shrugging his shoulders. "It's just as well, can't you all feel it?" The others stopped to look at him before they all widened their eyes, the 'king' had arrived.

A man with long, silver hair approached the clearing. He was accompanied by a man in black who was watching with one revealed eye, the rest being shrouded by his cloak.

Once the two had reached the group, the 'King' was the first to speak. "Sorry for being so late, had to escort our superior here." He said slightly bowing.

Rigardo was the first to speak. "It's about damn time Isley."

Isley half smiled to his subordinate. "Sorry Rigardo. I'll try and do better next time." He said with a hint of sarcasm, which Rigardo chose to ignore.

The man in black stepped forward. "As you know, you are the top of the warriors in the Organization, weather by fighting style, strength, or ability you have all earned a spot at the top. Now each of you will be assigned to fight each other based upon these merits. Ricardo and Chronos you will spar with Dauf and Lars. Isley you will spar with Elijah and Caesar. Am I clear?"

The warriors nodded, and cleared the field as Ricardo and Chronos stood on one side and Dauf and Lars stood on the other. Isley, Caesar and Elijah stood off to the side observing with the man in black. "Begin."

The four warriors stuck at each other in an instant, Rigardo locked blades with Dauf and Chronos with Lars. Chronos broke the blade lock and swung at Lars who trucked under the blade and swept the ground with his blade, whipping up dust as Chronos jumped into the air and brought down his blade on Lars who blocked and took a knee as he was pushed into the dirt from above.

Ricardo was striking mighty and swift blows with Dauf as their two blade movements became increasingly fast and strong, whipping up a gust. Dauf pushed Ricardo back and struck with a downward blow causing the ground beneath him to erupt into a large crevice as Rigardo deftly moved to the side and kicked Dauf in the side across the field into the struggle between Lars and Chronos.

The two barely dodged as Dauf came flying across the ground and jumped away as Dauf flipped midair and dug his hand into the ground stopping himself. "You'll have to do better than that!" he bellowed.

Rigardo appeared behind him ready to bring down his blade. "How's this?" he asked, Dauf barley ducking in time for the blade to pass a hair's breadth from his head. Dauf bucked and kicked Rigardo in the stomach sending the number two into a nearby tree, dodging just barely as Dauf followed up with a flying kick, going through the tree and making a crater in the dirt where he landed.

Lars and Chronos were in the trees, each trying to trying to catch the other by surprise. Lars leaped to another branch as Chronos leaped by and cut the stable limb out from under him. Lars breathed heavily for a moment before an idea struck him. Chronos smiled to himself, he knew he had the upper hand, but just then heard a whistling sound getting louder, looking up and dodging just in time as a sharpened trunk whizzed past him and into the ground of the dirt. Chronos leaped towards the origin of the projectile only for two more to follow, this time he knocked them away with his sword and with a mighty blow knocked Lars into the dirt of the ground below, the latter breathing heavily as Chronos stood over him, blade point to chest.

Rigardo moved his blade quickly around his feet as a dust cloud formed around him. Dauf attacked the silhouette of Rigardo through the smoke but slashed at nothing as Rigardo landed with a downward strike, causing the ground underneath his feet to give way as Dauf lost his balance and found himself with a blade at his chest.

The man in black raised a hand. "Enough. The match is over." Rigardo grinned at Dauf who only scowled and moved past his superior with a shoulder shove. Chronos on the other hand outreached to Lars who took it with some apprehension, they went to sit down as Isley, Caesar, and Elijah stood up.

Isley stood to one side while Elijah and Caesar stood of to another. The man in black observed all three "Begin."

The three drew their swords as Elijah whispered closely to Caesar. "Don't take Isley lightly."

Caesar scoffed. "Noted."

Elijah and Caesar leaped towards Isley and each slashed as Isley stood in a single spot deflecting their blows and pushing them back as they each took turns to fight him as the other was pushed back. Caesar made a series of blows which Isley blocked as Elijah leaped over Caesar and brought down his sword Isley leaping back slightly as Caesar followed up with another aerial attack which Isley blocked. Elijah counted quickly rushing with a few slashes and locking blades with Isley who smirked at him. "Heh. Is that the best you can do?"

Elijah was pushed back as Caesar recovered standing beside him. "All hail Isley, huh?" Elijah joked.

Caesar put up a hand. "Elijah stay back, I'll take Isley alone."

Elijah looked to his fellow warrior. "Caesar…"

Caesar put his hand on his blade, causing it to redden slightly. "I think it's time for a new number one!"

Isley smirked. "Heh. Come and try."

Caesar returned the smirk. "So smug… but for how long?" He said rushing Isley with a mid-slash as the 'King' leaped backwards avoiding the blow. Caesar followed up bringing his red blade down on Isley who blocked as he was pushed into the ground slightly by the force. Isley and Caesar continued to smirk at each other as Caesar continued his assault pushing back Isley. Isley retaliated with his own blows using his strength to push Caesar into the sky. Isley leaped following him as they continued to exchange blows midair.

Caesar landed on the ground as Isley continued to fall towards a cliff-side. Grabbing some rocks, they turned pinkish and he threw them into the air as Isley continued to fall, as he deflected them with his sword they exploded in a mass if dust that engulfed Isley. Caesar then began to pick up a boulder when Elijah appeared at his side grabbing his arm. "Stop, you'll destroy yourself with that technique."

Caesar scowled and grabbed Elijah' face. "That's no way to talk to your superior!" he shouted sending Elijah deep into the thicket.

Caesar then felt a surge as Isley blew away the dust with a swing of his sword. Caesar took a step back as Isley landed on the cliff-side and it began to give way. Caesar watched as Isley fell and disappeared for view, then a surge of yoki, the cliff-side blew away with a fury of slashes as Isley leaped forward towards Caesar, the latter just barely having enough time to block the devastating blows. Isley ripped through the ground with an upward slash as Caesar leapt back. Isley continued to push Caesar back with increasingly strong and fast blows. Caesar blocked and locked blades for a moment only for Isley to use a sheer force of strength and send him flying backwards skidding off the ground as he came to a halt. Caesar got up in time to watch Isley come flying towards him with a blow, only to counter it with his own, causing a huge gust of wind to explode from the blade lock. They pushed each other back and prepared to strike again when a figure from the side with two blades ran forward. "Enough!" he shouted. Blocking narrowly blocking both Caesar's and Isley's blades.

Isley frowned. "Elijah…"

Caesar snarled. "Out of my way!" he said pushing his red blade forward, breaking through Elijah's blade and causing it to split and fly off slicing deeply though Caesar's shoulder as he reeled in pain.

Elijah looked to his fellow warrior. "Caesar." He said with concern.

The man in black held up his hand. "Enough. I have seen all I have need to."

Caesar panted, getting up. "Just a scrape. I'll be fine, don't worry." He said walking off.

The man in black walked up to stand between all the males. "That will be all for today. You are all to report your posts as of tomorrow. Dismissed."

* * *

><p><em>Present day…<em>

* * *

><p>"Wow, you guys sure were powerful." Raki commented, having heard the recollection.<p>

"Well… that was only one story but yeah, I could see how we came across as being super awesome." Eli said with some pride.

"I didn't say 'super awesome'" Raki deadpanned.

Eli frowned. "No? I thought it was implied. At any rate I wasn't all that strong, just very good at 'seeing' things."

"'Seeing'?" Raki inquired.

"Yoma sense, or rather yoki sense." Eli explained. "Yoma, Claymores and awakened beings all have a certain power within them that determines their amount of power and types of powers. This is called yoma power or yoki. Claymores and awakened beings can sense this power, some with more clarity than others depending on the subject. Generally the stronger the power is the easier it is to sense." Eli stopped for a moment seeing that Raki was having a hard time understanding. "It's like this, think of yoma power as light, the greater ones' eyesight is the better you can see the light, and the brighter the light the easier it is to see."

"That's how I got my nickname 'Wide-eye' Elijah, but that was before-" Eli stopped mid-sentence, and Raki gave him a puzzled look.

"Nickname?" Raki asked.

"Yes." Eli nodded. "Warriors who are renowned within the organization are usually known by one 'nickname' or another. It usually depicts a fighting style or a special ability, or even a personality quirk. It's usually only given to the single ranked digits though because they are the only ones who are around long enough to develop a technique unique to them."

Eli was silent for a moment then turned to his sleeping roll. "I think that's enough questions for now. Get some sleep." He ordered. Raki looked to Eli then the fire then turned in for sleep.

* * *

><p><em>Later the next day…<em>

* * *

><p>Eli and Raki had wandered into another village. It was fairly large with bustling activity. Fields surrounded the outskirts and vendors were selling their goods.<p>

Eli had seen hundreds of cities like it before, though most if not all of them were gone. Eli looked above to a sign. "Erabas. That's what it's called then." Eli observed.

Raki looked around, this was his first time in a village other than his own without Clare. Only Eli remained and Raki didn't know what to make of the situation. Sure, Eli had explained many things in-depth to him, but it was far too easy to get that information, he was still holding many things back, and Raki wanted to know what they were.

Eli clasped Raki on the shoulder snapping Raki out of thinking. "Let's go get a drink then shall we?"

Eli and Raki walked into an inn. The place was brightly lit in some places while gloomy in others; people were going about their usual business. A man with his hood drawn motioned Eli and Raki over with a hand gesture. Eli motioned to the table the hooded man sat at and they walked over.

Eli looked to him. "Hello there? You waved us over. Might I ask for your name?"

The man spoke, his voice gruff and horse. "A name is but a cloud on a summer wind."

"But the wind is felt most keenly in the dark." Eli said, ignoring the surprised look from Raki.

The stranger almost sounded pleased. "Ah, but what is the dark? Other than an omen of the sun."

Eli shifted. "I confess that every sun must set." He paused with a small smirk. "And yet the son of the father must also rise."

The hooded man smiled and motioned to the seats at the table which Eli and Raki took. He drew back his hood revealing long braided hair and a handsome face. "The mistress said you would know the code, glad to see you still remember, sir." He said in a polite and altogether different voice from before.

Raki looked to Eli for some explanation. "I knew she had agents here and there. I've been meaning to check in anyways." Eli then turned to Raki. "Raki, this is one of my good friends Madame Zora's little cro-… uh, I mean 'agents'. He helps collect information on 'various things'. "

Raki sighed. "Gee could you be anymore vague?"

Eli grinned. "Only if I put my all into it." He turned back to the man. "And your name is…?"

"Garret." He answered. "Also nothing to report since the last time the Mistress informed you."

"Damn. I was hoping for something more." Eli sighed.

"But there is something of a mystery going on." Garret added, drawing Eli's attention. "There have been disappearances going on around town."

Eli raised a brow. "Disappearances?"

Garret nodded leaning in and whispering as Eli and Raki leaned in also. "There are whispers that it's a yoma, but no one can say for sure. No bodies have been found, people are just disappearing."

Eli leaned back, crossing his arms. "Hmm… I don't think so. I can't sense any yoma near enough to here for it to be them."

Raki looked to Eli. "Then what is it?"

"I am not sure." He answered." Then he looked over to where some of the men were playing cards. "But I think maybe we can gather some info." He turned back to Garret. "Thanks for the tip. Give Zora my best."

"Will do sir." He answered. Raki and Eli got up and walked over to the card table, drawing attention from the players as they approached. When Raki looked back Garret was gone and heard the smack on the doorframe as the inn door was shut.

Eli smiled widely. "Greetings, I've heard that there have been strange happenings going on around and was wondering if you fine gentlemen knew anything."

The men looked at Eli then each other, the one man. Gruff and bearded addressed Eli. "First off stranger, we're not 'gentlemen', second if you want to talk to us, you got to play." He said motioning to the pile of money on the table.

Eli nodded once then produced a gold bara and sat down in a nearby chair. The others smirked to themselves and to each other. One whispered to another. "We can bleed this one dry." The other nodded. The man who addressed Eli dealt him in. "The name of the game is 'King's blind side' you know it?" he asked.

Eli smiled smugly. "Once or twice."

* * *

><p><em>Two hours later…<em>

* * *

><p>Raki was astonished once again. Eli had taken his small chip in and cleaned house. All that was left was between the bearded man and Eli, with almost equal stacks of money before each of them.<p>

The man squinted at Eli then his own cards. "I raise." He said pushing forward the last of his money.

Eli was stone faced. "I call." He said pushing forward his last bits of money. All would be decided with this last hand.

The man put his hand down "Royal treasury." He said showing his cards and reaching for the money.

Eli stopped his hand and laid down his own. "King's crown. I win." He announced showing the cards. The men around the table exchanged sneers of disgust and looks of surprise as Eli began to reach for the money but then stopped, picking up only what he had originally put in. "Tell you what. Speak with me and tell me what you guys know, and I'll let you keep your money. Sound good?" the men looked at Eli, then each other and nodded, sitting down with sighs of defeat. "Perhaps introductions would be appropriate though. My name is Eli and this is my good friend Raki. May I ask for your names?"

The bearded man spoke. "Name's Gen. These here are my friends Boga, Keal, and Foge." They each nodded to Eli as he looked to them. "And you are correct. Many people have been going missing. But…"

"But you don't suspect yoma because yoma leave bodies, right?" Eli finished. Gen nodded. "I agree." The men turned to look at Eli as did Raki. "Yoma will leave bodies mostly because they are too small-minded to think of hiding their handiwork. I think what you have here is a murderer, possibly a psychopath. Mostly likely someone completely out of their mind." The men looked to each other then back to Eli. "It's only a theory though. Tell me, when did these 'disappearances' start?"

"About two months ago." Gen answered.

"And has anyone new come to town about the same time?" Eli asked.

Gen leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "Hmm… yes. A wedding couple passed into town two months ago. That's when the first disappearance happened. A man name Bard disappeared and hasn't been seen since. But they left almost as soon as they came."

"How many people have disappeared?" Eli continued.

"Thirteen." He answered.

"And what's the frequency of the attacks?" Eli pressed.

"It seems to happen every time a new face rolls in." He said eyeing Eli. "Though we figured that out a while ago." He said standing up as patrons in the bar began to do that same, Eli eyed them as some of them began to produce weapons. "It's why I think it best you leave."

Eli held up his hands as Raki followed his motions. "Easy everyone. We're not here to cause any trouble."

"Then why don't you just leave?" Foge asked.

"Listen everyone. My friend and I are not the cause of your worry. But if what I've heard is true and this only happens when someone new comes into town, that means there might be a disappearance going on tonight. Whoever is doing this is trying to get you to blame their attacks on outsiders so you don't look inward." Eli then watched as some of the people lowered their weapons. "Now, I know you're scared, and you have a right to be. But I can help you."

"How?" asked Gen.

"I'll go on a hunt for whoever is doing this. And I'm going to make sure that you find out what's happening in this town and rid it of this killer." Eli announced. The patrons lowered their weapons and sat back down, all eyes still on Eli. "Now, is there anything that the people who disappeared have in common?" The room was silent. "Anything? When it happens maybe? Or who was taken?"

"Yes." A man in the back spoke up. "It usually happens at night." And then this sound…" he trailed off.

"Yes? At night you say? What kind of sound?" Eli asked.

"Like a bell noise." Another spoke. "It sounds like a high pitched ringing noise and then, nothing. It sounds like comes from all around the town."

"Alright. That's good." Eli nodded, then looked around the room. "Okay, so scratching noise that comes from everywhere. Anything else?"

Another, a woman this time, raised her hand. "Yes, it's always one person who disappears. Never two people."

"Alright then." Eli said. "Then here's what should happen, as long as you stay together in pairs everyone should be fine tonight."

"Since when do you call the shots?" Asked another, younger, man. "Why should any of us listen to what you have to say?"

"Oh I'm sorry you're right. What was your plan again?" The youth was silent. "That's what I thought. Listen, you people may think there are yoma amongst you here, but let me assure you there is none. This isn't how yomas work, and in truth, I think there may be one among you who is the real culprit behind this." An eerie silence fell over the room as people began to look to each other with suspicious looks. "Now listen, is this everyone in town?"

Gen spoke up. "No, we still have a few monks at church and a few others in their homes."

"I will make sure they are informed. As for the rest of you lock your doors after dark and stay inside if at all possible. My friend Raki and I will patrol the streets for a any sign of danger tonight." Eli informed. "We will not fail!" The room all clapped and there were some cheers at Eli announcement.

Raki tugged on his shirt. "What?" he asked.

Eli put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about a thing Raki, we'll be just fine."

Eli and Raki walked out of the inn, plan in hand. Eli turned to Raki. "Okay go and find those still at their homes and tell them to stay inside I'll go to the church to inform the monks. Raki nodded, and ran off. Eli turned to face the church at the center of town. "Time to go to mass."

Eli pushed open the door at the large wooden door of the church. It certainly wasn't nearly as grand as the church back in Rabona, but it had a rustic charm to it, its design spoke of the simplicity of small village life. He spotted sever men facing the altar away from him, they wore long robes and their backs were turned to him, four almost identical human beings. "Excuse me?" he called to the monks but they didn't answer. "Excuse me?" Eli called a little louder now coming closer, as he did he heard something being muttered under their breaths in unison. Before he could make out what it was his shoulder was touched and he whirled to face the aging face of a man in his late 60s dressed in the same attire as the other monks.

"Please don't disturb them." He said, his voice filled with the experience and wisdom that his age had granted him. "They are busy chanting in meditation and should not be disturbed."

Eli eyed the man then the monks again then the man again. "I suppose you lead this church?" he asked.

"I do." The man said in an almost whisper. "This church has been here since the founding of the town many years ago, and I have been presiding here for over thirty years. My name is Father Cornello."

"How do you do?" Eli replied, his tone now more polite. "My name is Eli. I was just coming by to tell you that you should be wary tonight, they say there have been disappearances."

Father Cornello nodded. "Oh, I don't know about that." He said putting his arm around Eli. "People come and go all the time, searching for better lives, and our little town hasn't much to offer, so if one or two people go missing it shouldn't be taken as a big deal."

Eli eyed him. "So you think the whole town just thinks what they do for no reason then?"

"Not at all, they're reasons are perfectly legitimate, they just need to understand that sometimes people move on with their lives and there's nothing that can be done about it."

Eli pulled away from the Father. "Yeah well, better safe than sorry. Thanks for your time, see you later." With that Eli turn and walked out the door.

The Father sneered as Eli left and turned to one of the hooded men. "Tell Davros that we'll have another few more "specialty items" being delivered tonight. "

The Monk turned and stared blankly with hazed eyes. "Yes father, you will be done."

_Sunset…_

Eli and Raki were outside in the town's square. Raki watched a little nervously as the sun began to set and looked to Eli whose face was calm and serene. "Shouldn't we do something?"

Eli turned to him. "What are you talking about, we are doing it."

"You mean standing around like idiots? Waiting for some, some murderer to come waltzing around the corner?" Raki asked.

"Yep."

"But shouldn't we-?" Eli held up a hand.

"It's like I said before Raki. As long as we're together no one should be getting abducted tonight."

"But-"

"But nothing. We're here to make sure that no one is hurt. Isn't that what Clare would make sure would happen?" Eli asked.

"She hunts actual yoma, Eli! Not some crazy people with a thing for kidnapping." Raki protested.

"Tell me Raki. If you cannot handle the latter how can you ever hope to overcome the former?" Raki stopped for a moment and thought. "Exactly, you want to slay some monsters, that's fine. But not all monsters have the need to eat human flesh Raki, Trust me, I know."

_***CRASH***_

A loud sound came from around the corner as Eli and Raki turned to the source of the sound. "What was that?" Raki asked.

"I don't know, let's find out." Eli replied walking towards the sound source.

"Okay you do that, I'll just be here then." Raki said watching Eli turn the corner.

"Alright! Meet me back at the inn!" Eli called to him from the corner.

Raki watched and waited in the darkness, he thought he heard footsteps behind him as he turned to look. Sighing, Raki turned back to the street. _"This is a little much for me. I'll head back now."_ He did as he thought, walking cautiously along the road and back to the room he and Eli had rented earlier.

Entering the small room Raki put his sword down on the floor next to him and got into bed. But then the strangest thing happened, he heard a small whistling tune.

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile…<em>

* * *

><p>Eli looked to the street where he had heard the noise a dark alley where only an overturned rain barrel was seen, having spilt it contents onto the ground when it fell.<p>

Eli sighed. _"What's up with this place? Am I going mad? Or is it the people?_

Deciding to head back to the inn, Eli walked back onto the street where he saw no sign of Raki. _"Huh, I guess he went back to the inn."_ Eli walked into the his room in the inn, the place was tidy and neat with only a couple of beds and a table and a window with a view. Eli looked to Raki's bed. It was clean and neat, completely immaculate. _"Something's not right here."_ He touched the bed, then bent down and inhaled it's scent. _"I knew it, fresh sheets, very fresh. Someone wanted to replace these. Only one reason for that…"_ He inhaled deeper. _"blood, recently here. Someone was in a hurry." _

Eli looked out the window and snarled at what he saw. A hooded man was carrying a bloodied sack around a corner and disappeared. Eli didn't even think as he crashed through the second story window and with inhuman speed turned the corner he had seen. He watched as the hooded man turned the corner again into another alley. Eli ran and turned the corner only to see an Alley with a dead end.

Eli frowned, looking to the walls. _"What?" _Eli touched the walls. _"No this can't be a dead end, I just saw him."_ He inhaled again, now looking down at the ground. _"Underground huh?"_ Eli then began to smell blood on one of the bricks; he reached for it and after a little pressure, the brick slid into the wall and the ground opened up, revealing stairs descending into darkness.

Eli took off his goggles, the path becoming much clearer as he descended the three-hundred meters of stairs until he reached a crossroads, five passageways each leading into another part of the tunnel system. Eli inhaled again for the scent of blood and immediately found it, unfortunately, it was heavy and strong coming from all five corridors, and not just with the scent of blood, but of decay and filth as well.

Eli was perplexed on what to do, and then he heard it. A low scratching noise coming from the far left corridor. Picking the corridor, Eli ran down the passageway and beheld a gruesome sight. In the small circular room there was a man sitting at a table facing away from Eli. There were also a couple of bodies chained to the wall, a man and woman, their bodies beaten and abused for what looked like weeks, the man was missing a leg, and both their bodies smelled of decay. Then it began again, the scratching noise and this time Eli could see what it was. It was the man sitting at the table, carving something into the wood then writing down on a piece of paper with a quill. Eli immediately recognized him as one of the monks from earlier.

With lightning fast speed and reflexes Eli ran and put his knife to the man's throat. "What are you doing? What is all of this?"

The Man did not seem to react though, he simply continued to carve into the table and write something down in a book, back and forth rhythmically. Eli was puzzled but then looked down on what the man was carving into the table he found random slashes from the hours spent carving the table, but there was no lettering or discernible pattern just scribbles and chicken scratch. Eli then took the book and found it with similar scribbles and chicken scratch. Eli looked down to the monk and noticed he hadn't stopped what he was doing, he was still rhythmically going back and forth between scratching the table and scribbling the book, though now the man was writing in the air, as if the book had never been moved, the fresh ink spilling onto the table and slipping through the cracks where there had been a little too much liberty with the knife

"_What is this?"_ Eli thought. He waved a hand in front of the man's face. No response. He then turned the man's head to look at him. The man's face was completely blank, the eyes unfocused, the lips continuing to shape words without sound. Eli watched the lips move. _"Praise the almighty. For he comes to deliver his children in holy bondage. His love and guidance in each and every chain."_ Over and over again, a small distorted prayed mouthed like a mantra. _"Must be some form of hypnosis." _

"Hello there, Eli wasn't it?" A voice sounded from behind, familiar, yet different. Eli turned to look at a hollow tube in the wall with what appeared to be a mouthpiece. "I see you have found out my little hideaway."

Eli took a step towards the tube spoke into the mouthpiece. "Cornello! Just what do you think you're doing here? What have you done to the monks? Who are the people chained to the wall?"

The tube was silent and Eli thought for a moment Cornello had left wherever the tube led to. "I'm doing what any man with a little ambition tries to do… make his way in life." The tube sounded, Eli narrowed his eyes at the answer. "You see, the slave business happens to be very popular in some areas, and this area happens to lie beneath a great slave trade to the north. The people you see on the wall are the ones who the town has claimed, 'disappeared' but in reality I've simply sold them off to a slave trader who buys them in the dozens. Those two however were one of the ones who refused to accept their fates and tried resisting, so they had to be punished, severely." Eli could feel his jaw clench at the callous attitude of Cornello.

"You were the ones who took Raki then?" Eli asked, anger rising in his voice, his hand squeezing the talking tube with significant force, the metal squealing as it was bent inwards.

"You little companion right? Yes, indeed. We have actually been running low on slaves to sell, and in order to keep up with demand we had to sell off your friend. Had you arrived even a few minutes earlier you might have been in time to stop me from selling him!" The tube mocked.

Eli snarled continuing to damage the tube. "Cornello, let me be very clear… when I find you… you'll wish you had never clawed your way out of your mother's womb like a festering parasite."

The tube scoffed. "Good luck-" it retorted, as Eli ribbed the tube from the wall, causing it to collapse. He took one look at the metal and dropped it, running back to the corridor with inhuman speed. This time Eli picked the middle hallway and ran, coming upon a large antechamber. Chains hung limply on the walls, most covered in blood and other bodily fluids and on the other side of the room was Cornello the archway of a tunnel. "Good luck." He said smugly, releasing a trigger and causing a rock to block the hallway.

Eli ran over to the tunnel's entrance and lifted the rock out of the way, watching as Cornello took a ladder up to the surface. "Get back here!" Eli shouted running to the ladder getting to the base just in time to watch the Father seal the entrance to the surface.

The metal cover hiding the tunnel exploded upward and landed on the side. Eli crawled out and saw standing a few meters away Father Cornello, he was holding a bell.

"Cornello! It's over! You mock your faith by wearing the robes of a holy man! You're nothing but a fraud looking to get ahead." Eli bellowed pointing at Cornello with his deformed hand.

Cornello laughed, his cackles echoing off the dark streets. "Ha! 'He helps those who help themselves'! I'm just trying to survive in the terrible, cold world of ours! I cannot allow you to leave now that you know the truth." With that he held up the bell and rang it fiercely, the sound seeming to echo off the buildings.

The village awoke as people stumbled out of their homes and came towards the sound of the bell, until the entire town. Eli took notice as the people of the village made a circle around Cornello and himself. Nearly all the people had their eyes closed, those whose eyes were glazed and unfocused staring off into space.

Eli glared at Cornello who returned the look with a sneer. "I've had these people under my thrall for quite a while now. Usually having them bring me whatever wanderers have decided to stop into town. Then I catch them and sell them into slavery, and no one's the wiser, except sometimes not enough people come to our fair village and I have to substitute with one of the townspeople."

Eli drew his sword. "You know, it has never been yoma that never cease to amaze me with the amount of callousness they have towards other living creatures, they cannot help themselves. No, it is people like you who I find most appalling in this world, people like you should vanish!" Eli rose his sword and charged, but Cornello disappeared into the crowd of faces. Eli pushed past to get to the man as the crowd then turned on him, they began to grip and tear at his skin and clothes. He struggled against the onslaught, pushing back those who tried to get ahold of him.

Cornello made it out of the crowd and turned back to watch the huge mob dog pile on Eli, the warrior being covered with the sheer mass of the town until he collapsed under the combined weight of the bodies. The fraudulent Father sneered and turned walking away. There was a small vibration coming from the ground and Cornello turned to look.

_***CRASH***_

Eli came bursting from the ground underneath Cornello and before he could even move Eli was upon him, snatching the bell from his hand and crushing it in his palm, the crowd of people. Eli then ungloved his right hand and picked up Cornello by the throat. "Where… is… RAKI!" he shouted to Cornello who was now caught between shaking with fear ad gasping for air.

Cornello weakly asked. "How…?"

"Opened up a hole underneath myself and then tunneled underneath the ground to you." Eli explained, his voice altered through his anger. "Now, you must have some record of these transactions… where is it?"

Cornello reached into his jacket and pulled out a piece of paper, Eli snatched it and looked at its contents. "I already sold off your friend earlier, he was the last to be sold off tonight, you'll have no chance of finding him." He said weakly.

"We'll, see about that." Eli said, he then let go, letting the man hit the ground with a thud, he gasped for air at the sudden release of pressure from his neck. "Come here." He said, grabbing Cornello by the collar and dragging him on the ground.

Cornello whimpered as he was being dragged away. "Please don't kill me…"

"Don't worry I won't." Eli replied.

* * *

><p><em>The next morning…<em>

* * *

><p>The villagers started to wake up one by one, many disoriented by the fact that they were laying outside in the middle of town.<p>

"Look!" One of them pointed towards the center of town, where a large wooden cross had been erected. On it was Father Cornello, tied by the arms, legs, torso and forehead to the cross, his face badly bruised and beaten and his hands and feet nailed down, the blood dripping onto the ground. On the cross, at head height, was the paper showing all the slavery transactions. There was also large bold words written across the paper: **BEHOLD THE HOLY MAN OF GOD**

* * *

><p><em>Elsewhere…<em>

* * *

><p>Eli continued to walk down the road heading north. <em>"Raki… Hold on, I'm coming ."<em>

* * *

><p><em>In a city to the north…<em>

* * *

><p>Raki awoke to the stench of filth and decay, he got up to move but found himself chained down to the ground. He looked around to another boy next to him, his appearance kind, with long shaggy blonde hair and sky blue eyes. The boy noticed his awakening and waved slightly.<p>

Raki called out to him weakly. "Where am I?"

The boy smiled faintly "Welcome to Hell." He answered.

* * *

><p><strong>Let's see… it's been one, two… wow, over five months. I am sorry, that was really uncalled for. I just had a hard time trying to write this, I had a lot of ideas that kept on changing on me the more I thought about what direction I wanted this story to go in, I also kept forgetting to work on this when I really should have. In the end I came up with what you just read, and I know, not my best work. I'll try better next time, if any of you are even still reading this. On a lighter note I've had all of my previous chapters revamped to make more grammatical sense, so it should be a better read. Special thanks to Blacklight1798 for helping with that task, I hope to see you guys real soon, and I mean it this time. <strong>

**As a note, "Caesar" as stated above is with a long "A" sound like the Spanish pronunciation, not long "E" sound like the Roman Emperor.  
><strong>


	10. Ch: 10: Ancient Wrath

**Okay then! I told you guys I'd be back soon! Hope you enjoy.**

**I don't own Claymore.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 10: Ancient Wrath<p>

_In the Organization's Headquarters, Sutare…_

* * *

><p>The winds blew harshly outside as a sandstorm raged, beating against the rocks and scant few trees in the broken and forgotten wasteland. It was barren of all things except for the base of the Organization, whose structure was upon a plateau in the very same sandstorm now blowing. But though the weather raged outside, nothing could be heard in the dead silent room where the organization's leaders now held session.<p>

"So… you've been unsuccessful in contacting number forty-seven, is that correct?" Asked an elder man seated in the center of a circle of his colleagues all looking grim and serious. "How long has this been going on?"

Rubel answered his superior with absolute calm in his voice. "Three months, ever since the awakened being hunt began in Gonal."

The elder continued his line of questioning. "That was the mission that included number four, right? So I assume you've entertained the possibility that she is deceased."

Rubel gave a small smile. "I wouldn't dream of it until a body is found."

The elder thought on this. "Hmm… the body of number four, Ophelia was discovered recently as an awakened being. Is there and chance it was by number forty-sevens doing?"

"Considering the vast difference in their abilities, I'd say the chances are slim." Rubel replied.

The elder grimaced. "I guess that is one way of looking at it." He looked to Rubel. "However I believe number forty-seven is much more powerful than we imagined, and when you consider the fact that she is using Teresa's blood it should come as no surprise."

Rubel, still smiling, spoke. "We handed over the flesh and blood of one of the most successful half-breeds to date, the only reason to do that is to build a more powerful warrior. However, I understood the experiment was a disappointment."

If you look at the rankings it was a disaster." The elder agreed. "But there are some unanswered questions about number forty-seven that we still haven't taken into account. Either way till we determine her status we can't let this issue escape our focus. If she is alive then it is only a matter of time until we find her. Ermita?" he asked turning to the side as a cloaked man walked into the dark room.

"Yes?" he answered.

"Due to the importance and priority of this mission, I would like you to take command. This supersedes all other business." The elder instructed.

Ermita bowed. "Understood." He then turned and walked from the room.

Rubel thought to himself. _"Ermita's involvement must mean it is her turn."_ Rubel touched his hat and grimaced. _"Your fate is as good as sealed… Clare."_

Galatea stood in the midst of the sandstorm, not even noticing as the sand and wind brushed her as she turned her gaze far to the west.

* * *

><p><em>In a small village to the west…<em>

* * *

><p>Clare, her hair now in a ponytail and dressed in a dark cloak with her claymore in a wooden case upon her back, walked up to a man and a woman carrying a load of apples in a cart. "Excuse me sir."<p>

The man stopped. "Yes?"

"I'm looking for my two brothers, have you seen a man and a boy, both wearing swords on their backs in the last few days?" she asked.

The man frowned. "No, I'm sorry." He turned to the woman who also frowned.

"We haven't seen them." She confirmed.

Clare remained stoic. "Is that right?"

The man offered something else. "Look, um, you may want to check out the city of Hommel. It's a big market town just up the road, you'll probably have a much better chance of finding someone there."

Clare nodded slightly. "Thank you, I will try there." She walked past them.

"No problem, good luck, I hope you find them sir." The man replied.

The woman scowled. "What is wrong with you? That was so rude! You just called that woman sir!"

The man looked surprised. "No way! That wasn't a woman, what woman do you know of that carries a big sword around with her? That's gotta be a man." They both turned and watched as Clare walked away.

Clare, having heard the conversation thought on this. _"I need to deepen my voice more, that woman didn't buy me for a second. Elongate my vocal chords." _She then craned her neck doing just that.

* * *

><p><em>Far to the North…<em>

* * *

><p>Raki sat down on his rear, his legs crossed, as he ate the gruel given to the slaves, his ragged friend came down and sat beside him.<p>

"Another day… eh Raki?" the ragged boy asked, his smile weak.

"Yeah…" Raki replied looking dejectedly at the ground.

"I wonder if they're still out looking for you… those friends you told me about." He said.

"I know they are." Raki said with some confidence.

The ragged boy frowned. "Raki… it's been three months since they brought you here. And we've already moved a few times since then. You're nowhere near where they snatched you up from so long ago."

"I'm not giving up Elan." Raki said.

Elan sighed. "You've been here almost as long as I have. The only way we've been able to get through this is by keeping each other strong." He turned to Raki with a smile on his face. "You still have so much hope, despite everything."

"I have hope because I believe in my friends." Raki stated returning the smile.

"You're lucky to have them. I hope that after these months, you've come to consider me to be your friend too, as I have to you." Elan said.

Raki grabbed his hand and nodded with assurance. "Yes, of course. And when my friends come, you're coming with us Elan."

Elan smiled, despite himself. "I'd like that Raki."

* * *

><p><em>In a city on the border to Alphonse…<em>

* * *

><p>A hooded man walked through the town, his swiftness causing a gust in his wake as he passed by townspeople.<p>

He walked into a tavern and quickly made his way over to a table, another hooded man waited there.

"So…" Garret began. "Any luck?" Eli subconsciously responded with a firm grip into the table, his fingers digging into the wood as it made small squealing in protest. "I'll take that as a 'no'."

"Three months… eleven dungeons… all dead ends." Eli seethed. Looking to Garret, the latter felt a shiver down his spine as he felt the cold piercing gaze of the old warrior. "This is unacceptable."

Garret threw up his hands. "It's not our fault, sir. We-" he started but was quickly grabbed by his collar and pulled close towards Eli's face. The man could see glowing orbs of silver behind the dark glass and it gave an ominous feeling looking into them.

"I said, 'It's unacceptable'" Eli seethed again. Garret was no coward, but under the possibility of angering Eli, even he felt fear.

Though he felt frightened, Garret kept his composure. "We are trying our best here, sir. Finding one single slave out of hundreds, thousands even is difficult, and the more time that passes the chances of finding him become slimmer and slimmer and even our intel isn't enough."

Eli let go and huffed out, his anger turning to concern and depression. "So many… have suffered, through my actions and my inactions. I cannot bear to think what may have become of him. Raki is strong, but I fear he is still too young to truly stand on his own two legs. And if he died… what would I tell Clare, she has such… feelings for him, it would be like breaking her heart, and it would be all my fault."

Garret closed his eyes for a moment then opened them after taking a small breath. "You are a good man Eli. The mistress speaks highly of you, though she would kill me if she knew I told you that." Eli smiled a bit at this. "We may have a new lead, I'm afraid it's only about as solid as the previous ones, but I'm sure we got it this time."

Eli nodded. "How long will it take to get this information?"

"It'll be in within the hour." Garret explained.

Eli nodded, now looking past the agent and letting his gaze fall a few tables away where a waitress was being harassed by a group of men. "Thank you, and excuse me. I need to blow off some steam."

Eli walked over to the table and steadied the waitress, moving her slightly aside as he addressed the men. "You guys aren't very gentlemanly, are you?"

The men looked at Eli, then each other and laughed. The biggest of the bunch, a burly man answered back. "You call that an insult?"

Eli smirked. "I can think of none greater." The burly man and his cohorts laughed again, now making a scene in the tavern. "What do I have to do then to pick a fight with you? Bring your mother into it?"

The burly man's eyes narrowed as he stood up, now looking down on Eli. "Why don't you get out of here before i get really angry."

"Shaking in my boots, promise." Eli replied coolly. "So, think you can take me?"

"Take you?" The man repeated, now smirking a bit, crossing his arms. "I could take you with one hand tied."

"Alright then." Eli looked to the waitress and motioned to give him the tablecloth, she gave it to him. He then put his left arm behind his back and tied a knot in it, tethering his arm to his backside as the men watched with amusement.

The burly man laughed. "I meant, my arm." He finished, before being lifted off the floor by a powerful uppercut as Eli's fist made contact with his chin. The man was lifted into the air before falling on the ground, unconscious as the other men at the table stared with open mouths.

Eli turned grabbing a drink as the other men began to rush him. Eli quickly gulped down the dink and set the down the glass, spinning around and back-fisting another of the men sending him flying across the room as the remaining two continued to rush. Eli sidestepped one and stuck out his foot causing him to trip and sending the men to the floor with a thud. This distracted the second man, allowing Eli to quickly grab him by the nose and slam him into a support beam, knocking him out as he fell to the floor. The tripped man got up to attack again as Eli turned to walk back to his table, as he came up behind him, Eli quickly slammed his elbow into his face stopping him as he too fell to the floor, unconscious as the rest.

Garret watched the scene with a grimace. _"Glad he didn't decide to take it out on me."_

* * *

><p><em>In Hommel…<em>

* * *

><p>Clare walked around, spotting a food vendor she walked up to him. "Pardon me." She said, her voice now deeper. "I'm looking for my two brothers…"<p>

Clare continued this questioning all over the city, gaining more and more information on the possible whereabouts of her two companions.

"So you think your brothers may have passed through here, eh?" asked an innkeeper, Clare's current questionee.

Clare wrote down in the inn book. "We got separated a few weeks ago."

The inn keeper smiled. "Well, I hope everything works out for you . This city's bigger than you think. Give it time you'll find someone who can help." He said handing Clare the key to her room.

Clare looked out of her inn room as she thought of her two missing companions, then a nock at the door gained Clare's attention. "Come in." she said.

It was the inn keeper. "Would you like some dinner?" he asked holding up a tray of food.

"Sure." Clare nodded, as the man set the tray on a nearby table.

"You really must care an awful lot about the two of them." Clare raised a brow. "I'm talking about your brothers, you know nowadays if family members go missing, people are content to assume the worst. Yet here you are braving the country on your own, it's just not what you expect anymore."

Clare walked to the window. "Yes I find it a little strange myself." She said more to herself than him.

"Hm?" The innkeeper voiced.

"It's nothing." Clare dismissed, now beginning to remove some of her armor.

The innkeeper took it as a sign to leave. "Well, make yourself at home." He said leaving, then turned at the doorway. "Oh, I almost forgot there's a bit of a situation in town." Clare raised her head. "A few days ago a group of Claymores came in to town and they've been here ever since."

Clare did her best to make little facial expression at this. "Claymores…"

"The rumor going around is there's a gigantic yoma somewhere up in the Zakol mountains, that's all I've heard. I think they've sent in four Claymores so far." The innkeeper continued.

Clare grimaced. _"Four of them? An Awakened being…"_

"Anyway, hope I didn't scare you." He said, grabbing the door handle and beginning to leave. "I just thought you'd want to know."

"Well, thank you." Clare nodded.

The man left as Clare tuned her gaze out her window. _"I never expected to run into them here."_ Clare thought reaching in and taking out her yoki-suppressant pills. _"The pills that suppress my yoki are both helping and hurting. I can't be detected by other warriors, but I can also unknowingly end up in a town occupied by my comrades. I can't allow the organization to find me now, not before I'm finished." _She thought taking her pills, with a small amount of disgust.

Clare watched from her window as just then, four Claymores walked by, the people of the town making way for them as they passed. _"There they are, if they're hunting for and awakened being then at least one of them should be ranked in the single digits, but which one?"_

One of the Claymores stopped and turned her head upward towards the now vacant window of Clare's room, she had short slicked back hair with a few strands hanging in her face, another Claymore addressed her. "Jean, what's the matter?"

Jean turned to the Claymore. "Nothing, don't worry. Just my imagination." The four walked on as Clare returned to the window.

"_That's her."_ Clare thought. _"She's the one."_

* * *

><p><em>Elsewhere…<em>

* * *

><p>Garret waited for Eli to walk back through the tavern doors, eyeing his mug with boredom. He looked up at the sound of someone sitting across from him, it was Eli.<p>

Eli looked at the man expectantly. "So… where's the intel?"

Garret produced a folder from his person, sliding it across the table to Eli, who picked it up. "Here it is. Took a lot of work to get this I'll have you know."

"All part the job description, no one said it's easy being an information broker." Eli responded looking over the folder. "Let's see… high security… three or more dozen guards… extremely dangerous… proceed with caution… Ah, here's the important part, the location. Hmm, seems to be a rundown little shanty just to the north, hidden in the forest? Clever."

Garret shifted at the lackadaisical ways of his table partner. "Perhaps I should come with you. You could need backup."

The silver haired man chuckled. "That's unnecessary. This will be nothing for me. Thank you for all your help."

Garret put forth a hand. 'It's been a distinct pleasure sir."

Eli put forth his own and they shook. "Likewise, give my best to the Madame, will you?" Eli asked getting up and leaving.

* * *

><p><em>The next morning…<em>

* * *

><p>Elan woke up to the sound of light scratching, he looked over to Raki who was using a small piece of rock to scratch the walls.<p>

Elan walked over. "What are you doing Raki?"

"I'm having trouble remembering some things, so I'm writing them down here." Raki explained.

Elan looked to the wall. "C-L-A-R-E? E-L-I? Are those the names of your friends?"

Raki nodded continuing to scratch down letters with a rock. "I need to make sure, that if we move again and I'm not here, they know I was here. I'm only sorry I didn't think of doing this earlier."

Elan gave a weary smile. "You're an odd kid Raki."

Raki gave a small chuckle. "You're the one who's friends with one." At this both the boys began to chuckle, lightening up an otherwise gloomy world.

* * *

><p><em>Back in Hommel…<em>

* * *

><p>Clare walked down the steps of the inn as the innkeeper was tidying up. "You're up early." He observed. "Good morning."<p>

"And good morning to you." Clare replied. "I'm heading to the morning market. I'm hoping someone there has seen my brothers." She said walking out the door.

"Well, good luck to you." The innkeeper said. "And about the Claymores I mentioned yesterday, it seems they left sometime last night. If you ask me it's a relief they're gone though. Sure they may be fighting on the side of humans, but it doesn't change the fact they're half yoma."

Clare walked down the path to the market, passing people as she went. _"If it is an awakened being hunt, no matter how skilled the warriors are it will take at least a day to kill it. Not having to deal with them will save me a lot of trouble."_

Clare continued walking around town, much like yesterday and continued to ask her questions, the four Claymores in the meantime were well on their way towards their goal of the awakened being.

"Hmm… a man and a boy carrying a sword, no I haven't." a vendor replied.

Clare nodded. "Thank you." _No one knows anything, Raki… Eli… where the hell are you?"_

"Here it is! Look see? I told you!" a girl voice sounded from Clare's right as she turned to look. "It's the statue of Teresa and Clare! Isn't it pretty?"

"The statue of Teresa and Clare…" Clare spoke to herself, looking to the beautiful monument of two opaque women, back to back with wings outstretched. Clare thought back to what Teresa had said when she had explained her name. _"Clare was one of the twin goddesses, she was beautiful virtuous and good. Your parents probably wanted you to grow up with the goddesses' traits."_

The girl pointed. "See? That one on the end is Clare and the other one is Teresa.

The boy next to her huffed. "Stop acting like you know everything, I'm the one who told you that!"

"No you didn't!" the girl denied rather loudly.

"I did so!" The boy argued back. "And the other day you told that stranger all about it like you sculpted it yourself!"

"That isn't true and you know it!" She argued back. "He kept on asking me which one is Clare and which was Teresa. What was I supposed to do? Ignore him?"

The boy grumbled. "Show off."

The girl pouted. "I am not."

"Excuse me." Clare said interrupting the two of them as they gave the stranger their attention. "This stranger you spoke to… can you tell me anything more about him?"

The girl raised her brow. "Huh? He was just some weird guy, I dunno."

"He sure wasn't from around here." The boy corroborated.

"What did he look like? Did he wear a sword on his back?" Clare asked.

"Maybe, I think I remember him carrying something on his back." The girl replied, trying to think back.

"Did he happen to tell you his name?" Clare asked.

"No, but he was pretty tall, and he had this white-silvery hair, and these dark goggles. He was kinda creepy looking." She added.

The boy turned on her. "You still talked to him for like twenty minutes."

"The girl turned to him. "Yeah I know! I already explained that didn't I? He asked about the statue and when I told him about Clare and Teresa he had a small smile on his face, but it seemed strained, almost sad. I felt a little bad, and started to talk to him to see if it would cheer him up a little."

Clare nodded. "Okay, and there was no one else with him?"

The girl shook her head. "Okay then, did you see where he went?" Clare asked.

The girl shook her head again and the boy jumped in. "Well, this all happened around ten days ago and we haven't seen him since. So I'd say he's probably left town by now."

Clare nodded. "I see. Thank you."

The girl curiously asked. "So… who is this guy anyway, is he a friend of yours or something?"

Clare thought back on the two of them. "He… is more than that." _"What is Eli to me? What is Raki to me?"_

A scream suddenly sounded through the town as people turned to look at the cause for it. A warrior walked forward, step by step as blood spattered across the stone, it was one of the warriors from before, the left side of her body almost entirely gone now. "Someone… please help…" she whispered. Clare widened her eyes at the sight as many people did the same around her. "Please… I'm begging you… my friends are…" she stopped as her claymore fell to the ground with a clang and she began to collapse.

Clare rushed forward and caught her in her arms. "Hang in there! Hey!" she said turning the limp body's head towards hers.

The warriors whispered to Clare. "Please… you must contact the Organization for me…" she coughed up blood. "It was… too strong."

"Can you tell me what happened? Did an awakened being do this?" Clare asked.

"Are you… are you one of us?" the warrior asked weekly reaching for Clare's arm, she grabbed it firmly. "Promise me!" She said summoning her remaining strength. "You'll try and save my friends, they're still alive, they're alive! There's something… different about this one. The yoma are behind something, please just save them…" with that her face contorted in agony as wave of pain shot through her.

Clare held tighter. "Hold on!" But it was no use, there was one last grimace from the pained warrior and then she became limp, her body moved no more. Clare laid the body down looking to the hand still gripping her tightly. Clare removed the hand and stood up, not looking behind her.

"Could someone please take care of her body? She's gone now so you have nothing to fear." She informed. "Give her a human burial."

A man spoke up. "Excuse me mister… I hope you don't intend to go into those mountains by yourself. It's suicide!"

Clare walked outside of town and looked to the mountains, removing her ponytail, and sword guard. _"Raki… Eli…" _"I will find you both someday, now to return to my mission… killing yoma."

* * *

><p><em>Deep within the Zakol mountains, in a ancient fortress of stone…<em>

* * *

><p>"All right dear… almost there…" a small feminine voice said, the source being a small girl sitting on a throne, in the middle of a dark and dank dungeon of a room, two of the Claymores hung from the ceiling suspended by a rope-like substance. "Let's just try one more…" she said.<p>

On queue a man on her right nodded, he was a buff man with very short dull hair, he nodded to the long hair young girl and his should twitched, and then produced a large pointed rod which he took from his shoulder. "Number six!" he shouted and thrust it into Jean who had been one of the suspended bodies, hers now hang over six of the elongated poles sticking through one side and coming out the other. She writhed and screamed in pain as he twisted the rod around.

The young girl sighed with slight disappointment. "This is unexpected. I thought for sure she would have awakened by now." She said aloud to herself. The man continued to twist around the rod, causing Jean to squirm as the pain continued.

The man licked his lips, enjoying his sadistic little game as he continued to torture Jean. "Why are you so stubborn?" The young girl asked. "If you don't awaken soon, we'll just have to throw your body with your friend's over there. Is that what you want?" she said pointing to the fifth body in the room, it was full of holes and blood as it lay still on the cool stone floor.

Jean breathed hard and snarled. "Go to Hell!" The Claymore next to Jean began to moan and morph as she began to awaken. "Fight it! You can't let them win Katea!"

The young girl smiled. "Oh! This one is coming along nicely! Pretty soon the pain will be all gone."

Ketya continued to morph and change as Jean watched with horror. "Don't give in to it! You don't wanna become a monster do you? Augh!" She said as the man silenced her by jamming yet another rod into her body.

"You better watch who you're calling monster you stupid bitch!" the man snarled. "Open that mouth again and I'm gonna make you hurt even worse." Jean gritted her teeth and the young girl frowned slightly.

"Hey now! Don't get ahead of yourself you silly!" the girl said to the man. "Don't you add another till I say so."

The man frowned. "She called us bad names!"

A bright light interrupted them as Katea began to go through her final stages of awakening, her breath becoming haggard and she began to snarl with great intensity. The girl smiled. "Oh, yay!"

Jean watched in horror. "Katea, no…" she whispered.

Katea broke free of her restraints and the girl smiled. "Okay, ready or not Dauf."

Dauf, taking the signal, began to release his own yoki and turn top his awakened form. Katya's form appeared as a humanoid with black and glowing white body segments and spines on her back, with a human feminine face. Dauf's was a large armored humanoid, with rods protruding from his elbows, back and hind legs.

Jean watched with freight as her gaze shifted between the two beings. "My god… what's going on?"

As Katea began to adjust to her new form, Dauf reached forward and punched her in the face, causing an indent as she took the blow. Katea's spines reached forward and pierced Dauf's. The young girl leaned forward with some interest. "So Dauf, what do you think?"

Dauf talked aback as if nothing was happening at all. "**This one's no good. Is not strong enough.**"

Katea gasped as Jean's eyes widened. The young girl sighed. "Disappointing, but I guess that's to be expected from a Claymore that's ranked in the thirties. Go ahead and dispose of her."

Dauf interlocked his fingers and raised his fists, Katea widened her eyes and Jean shouted out. "Don't do it!" Dauf smashed her body to bits as pieces of Katea went flying everywhere. Jean was dismayed. "How could you?" she asked.

"Well, it looks like we'll have to find someone in the single digits to have any success." The girl mused. "You better hurry up and awaken Jean, at number nine you might be the best hope we have."

Tears rolled down Jeans' face. "Fuck you."

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile…<em>

* * *

><p>Clare continued to walk into the mountains; a group of men walked up to her and blocked her path.<p>

"Hey you!" One of them called out. "Hold on a minute. Are you alone? If you're thinking about going up into the mountains by yourself you might wanna think again. There's a nasty horde of yoma swarming all over the place."

"If you wanna get to the other side your best bet is to go around." another spoke up.

"You're an interesting group, normally you prefer to work alone not like a pack of dogs." Clare commented, drawing her sword and quickly dispatching three of the yoma in one blow.

One of the remaining two growled, "That dirty son of a bitch is a **Claymore**!" he said, morphing into his yoma form and charging. Clare jumped into the air as the yoma, smiled, "**It worked**!"

Clare took notice as two more flying yoma came at her. "**If we attack the feet and chest , you Claymores always jump. You are so predictable**." The other yoma said.

Clare quickly dispatched the flying yomas and fell to the ground. As they charged there was a flash of silver and they stopped a few feet behind her. "You're extremely knowledgeable about how we like to operate, and your attacks are very well coordinated which is not normal. How did you get this way?" she asked turning to them.

One of the yoma chuckled. "**You'll find out more than you bargained for soon enough**." He said before he and the last yoma burst into pieces.

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile…<em>

* * *

><p>Dauf turned and looked to the entrance. "<strong>Somebody's outside<strong>."

The young girl turned to look as well. "Oh! I think you're right! But it's too soon for the one who escaped to have found help." She got from her throne. "I am sensing a fait yoki aura…"

Jean blinked in disbelief as the young girl went on. "Whoever she is, she's a very low rank, no point in expecting much out of her, even if she does awaken." Clare reached the entrance to the fortress and the girl turned to Dauf. "I'll just leave her to you; you can do what you want with her."

Dauf smiled a wicked grin. "**Really? You mean it**?" He grabbed one of Jean's rods and twisted it, gaining yet another wail as Jean screamed in pain.

* * *

><p>Clare walked through the entrance way and into the dark fortress, taking slow cautious steps into the dark. <em>"There's something strange about this yoki aura. I sense so many distorted yoki inside this castle."<em> She continued walking until, she found the hallway in front of her filled with large rods in the floor walls and ceiling, seemingly placed there for some unknown purpose. She reached out and touched one. _"It's pulsing, so these are the auras I'm feeling."_ Just then, two rods flew towards her, Clare drew her claymore and blocked them, sending them into the wall, she then found herself surrounded by four yoma. _"Damn. I'm surrounded by yoma, to think I didn't even notice them approaching." _ The yoma charged at her. _"How could I fall for this?"_ Clare grabbed the hilt of her sword and quickly took out three of the four yoma, the fourth ran off as Clare walked on after it.

The yoma took a turn down a passageway as Clare followed behind, it was then suddenly caught by an enormous hand from underneath the ground. "**No running, that's bad.**" A deep male voice said from beneath. The hand's grip tightened as the yoma tries to escape the grasp, but to no avail as it exploded with a burst of purple blood in the giant palm.

Clare watched as Dauf began to dig himself out from the ground. _"What is this? I've never felt a yoki aura of this size!"_

Dauf's enormous form stared down at her with large golden eyes. "**Oh no! You're not a woman. I didn't expect you to be a man. More fun to torture woman, men die to easy. Which one are you?**" He paused for a moment as Clare stared up at him. "**You don't have to tell, I'll just rip your clothes off and see.**" He began to move towards her, but seemed to be struggling against the walls. "**Uh oh, tunnel too little. Dauf is stuck, I can't move.**" Clare took initiative and stuck with a blow against Dauf's face, but with no visible effect. "**Ow! What do you think you're doing? That kinda hurt!**" Clare watched with surprise at the apparent ineffectiveness of her first attack and so began a barrage against his hide, but with no more effectiveness than the first blow, and only fueling Dauf's annoyance. "**Hey! That really stings! What did I ever do to you? Stop it!**" Clare went for an eye, but Dauf caught the blow with his eye lid. "**Too bad, you're weak! My turn!**" Clare dodged out of the way as a giant palm smashed the ground. Clare let go of her blade, cursing at the futility of her attacks, the claymore still held in place by the eye lid of the giant yoma. "**Heh heh heh! Lost your sword fast, you're not much of a fighter.**" He opened his eye and the sword fell, Clare grabbed it as she drew near. **"It's a trap. Gotcha.**"

"The same to you!" Clare shouted back, activating the quick-sword and charging.

* * *

><p>The young girl frowned, a little perplexed. "She actually not bad. Maybe it would have been better to have Dauf bring her to me, instead of letting him toy with the poor thing."<p>

"You little bitch what the hell are you after?" Jean spat.

The girl giggled. "Well, I'll be happy to tell you when you awaken and join us."

Jean snarled. "Are you insane? I would rather die than join you monsters!" The girl giggled again. "What in the Hell are you laughing about!?" Jean demanded.

The girl shifted in her seat. "Oh it's… just that most people would consider you a monster too." Jean's expression spoke of surprise at the girl's words. "To most people there isn't much difference between a Claymore and an awakened being. Really it's only a matter of what side we let ourselves be aware of." She smiled. "See, in the eyes of the world we are both monsters. We're not that different after all." Jean was taken back at the statement while the girl continued to giggle.

"Maybe you're right." Jean admitted. "Maybe I am a monster, but you're wrong to think I'm anything like you. I came into this world as a human, and that's how I plan to die, with my human side in control. Do what you like but I'll never awaken for you."

The girl smiled. "I wouldn't be so sure. You intrigue me. So much so, that I've decided that I'm going to make you my very own little project!" Jena winced in pain as her body began to try and repair itself, the girl watched with interest.

* * *

><p>"<strong>Ow, o wow! You know, I'm really starting to get angry.<strong>" Dauf remarked as Clare stared in disbelief.

"_Impossible, his skin is so tough that the quick-sword barely affects him!" _ She observed.

Dauf opened his mouth wide as a rod protruded from it, he fired it and hit Clare square in the chest knocking the breath out of her as she was knocked to the ground. "**Here comes two!**" he said preparing to fire another, this time he hit her leg and Clare screamed out as it crushed her leg with great blunt force.

Clare winced in pain on the ground. _"My leg! The bone!"_

Dauf advanced forward. "**Heh, pretty good huh? If I cut off your leg, you'll only reattach it, but if I shatter the bone, it's harder to heal.**" Dauf reached over and grabbed Clare by the skull and lifter her up into the air. "**Now, let's take those clothes off and see what we're dealing with, are you a little boy or a pretty girl?**"

"This is a dilemma." A feminine voice cut in from the hallway. "I'm glad I found you so easily. I'm not sure what I should do next. You must admit this situation isn't one you encounter every day, now is it?" Clare turned her head as much as she could to see the source of the voice it was a warrior with extremely long, straight, flowing blonde hair, and a beautiful face and a tall stature. "I've come this far, I can't just go back without anything to show for it."

Dauf looked down on the new arrival. "**Who the hell are you, and why haven't you drawn your sword? Do you have some kind of death wish?**"

Clare focused on the crest on the warrior's dickie and recognized the symbol. _"That emblem…! She's number three… Galatea! What is she doing? Why is she here?"_

* * *

><p>The young girl raised her head with new interest. "Wait! It seems that we've been joined by someone truly powerful."<p>

* * *

><p>Dauf chuckled. "<strong>Don't worry little Claymore, I'll get to you. I just have to finish up with this one first.<strong>" He said squeezing Clare's head and causing Clare to cry out in pain. Galatea smirked, as Dauf felt an odd sensation and he let go of Clare letting her fall into her hands. "**Hey!**" he said surprised.

Galatea held Clare in her arms and looked down on her quizzically. "Well, you're much lighter than you look. You really should eat more." She looked to Dauf and then turned away. "My business here is with this one, if you'll excuse me." She began walking away.

Clare spoke weakly. "Don't underestimate him, he's…" Dauf fired another one of his rod from his mouth, it barely missed as Dauf looked confused, having been sure he aimed right for Galatea.

Dauf snarled. "**Now hold on! What was that little trick you just pulled on me?**" he bellowed, rod now protruding from his fingers as he aimed them at her. "**Don't you ignore me!**" he said firing them at her, they all missed sticking up in the ground around her as Galatea continued walking without breaking pace. He fired again and again with no success. "**Hey! What the hell? Why can't I hit her?**"

Clare watched with amazement at the scene. _"All his attacks are veering away form us. How is that possible?"_

Dauf then fired a large rod from his wrist, this time at the ceiling, causing the hallway to collapse. Galatea frowned. "Who would've thought. It seems our little playmate has a brain in his head after all."

Dauf snarled. "**You bitch! Where you goin'? I'm not done with my new friend! I'm gonna kill you, but before I do I'm gonna strip you naked, yank out your limbs and pull your steaming guts out while you're still twitching.**"

Galatea set Clare down. "Stay right here. Do your best to mend that leg."

Clare nodded weakly. "Okay."

"You're lucky." Galatea observed. "If I hadn't come along at the right moment, you could have easily fallen prey to that evil creature."

Clare sat up. "You have to be careful! Hi skin is too tough! Our swords can't penetrate it!"

"I wasn't referring to your giant friend." She said turning to Clare. ""I meant the evil creature who's down below us right now. You have no idea what trouble you're in do you?"

Clare eyes widened. "Her yoki aura is immense, but she's tremendously skilled at hiding it. If you're able to match her wavelength, you should be able to locate her as well."

The ground around Galatea was suddenly filled with rods as Dauf raised his hands again to strike. "**I wasn't able to hit you with all my other attacks, this time I won't miss!**"

Galatea smirked. "I thought you wanted to strip me down, tear off my limbs and pull out my guts while I watch?"

Dauf nodded. "**That's right. But I think I'll smash you first!**" he brought down his fists sending debris everywhere.

Clare called out. "Galatea!"

Dauf grinned. "**That's what you get for that cocky little attitude of yours, loser! Heh heh heh heh!**" he bellowed. He looked down and saw with shock that Galatea was unharmed, his closed fists were now open leaving her encircled by his hands but otherwise unharmed.

Galatea smirked again. "You're actually dumber than you look. I never would have thought such a feat was possible." She then jumped over Dauf's head in a flip, sending blows against his hide as she landed on the other side. "So it's true. His outer skin is too thick to penetrate with ordinary attacks, huh."

Dauf turned and reached for her. "**Why you!**" Foaling a strange sensation as he missed once again.

Galatea moved wuickly and pierced a weaker part of Dauf's arm, causing it to spurt out purple blood. "It's just as I thought, your skin is through but there seem to be some cracks in your armor. Galatea jumped, sending slashes all along the weak parts of Dauf's arm causing it to explode in purple blood.

Dauf moved to attack. "**You bitch!**" he bellowed punching her, but once again a odd sensation fell over him as his fist open into a palm, which she then proceeded to pierce with her blade. "**That hurt!**"

"Mind if I borrow your idea?' Galatea asked. "Ripping your arms off sounds like fun." She said slashing again, this time severing his hand from his arm.

Clare stared in absolute disbelief. _"So this is what number three is capable of, it's almost as if she can control her opponent's every move."_

Dauf wailed in pain, tears actually rolling down his cheeks. "**Damn bitch! You bitch! Stupid bitch! Augggh!**"

Galatea scoffed. "Oh please, don't cry, that's Just as embarrassing for me as it is for you."

"He is an idiot isn't he?" a high pitched voice said from behind as Clare and Galatea turned to look. "I really must apologize for that."

Galatea sneered. "Well, look who finally decided to come out of hiding."

The girl turned her attention to the large yoma. "What are you doing up here Dauf? I gave you one simple task and you can't even accomplish that!" she reprimanded. "This is why I'm embarrassed to tell people you are my man!"

Dauf whimpered. "**I've really been trying to hit her, but she's got some kind of force field. Promise!**"

The girl sighed. "Don't be stupid Dauf! She does not have a magical force field."

"**But it's true!**" He insisted "**That's why I haven't been able to…**"

"Listen." The girl said. "I'll tell you how to make sure you land your attacks but you're not allowed to miss this time. Understand?"

Dauf nodded obediently. "**Okay.**"

"I want you to hit her with everything you got, don't hold back." The girl instructed as Galatea frowned and Clare gasped.

"**But I have been attacking her with everything I got and I haven't been holding back! Nothing hits her, I swear!**" He wailed.

The girl sneered. "Quit your whining and just do it! Keep in mind if you miss one more time, I'm breaking up with you!"

"**Oh! Please don't…**" He gathered his strength in his left arm. "**Damn you all. This is your fault, I'll kill you for this!**" he said sending a punch straight at Galatea, who jumped out of the way. "**Huh? It didn't veer off course that time.**" He brought his fist towards Galatea to hit her as she moved out of the way in midair and she dodged, Dauf then fired several rod with all his strength and Galatea was forced to deflect them.

Clare watched with concern. "Be careful!"

"That's it." The girl said approvingly. "Good Dauf, you're closer. If you had started with that kind of intensity she would've been dead a long time ago."

"What happened? What did you just do?" Clare demanded.

"Me?" the girl asked. "I did nothing at all. You're friend there has the rare ability to control her opponent's aura. That's not quite true, at best she's able to tweak it a little bit, she can't actually stop him from attacking. So when Dauf releases all of his rage and power into his strikes, there isn't anything she can do to prevent them from landing."

Dauf was beginning to get the upper hand as Galatea took a punch from him and was sent to the ground, he followed up with another rod shot. "Look out! Dodge it!" Clare shouted. But the blow landed as he pelvis was crushed.

Dauf grinned. "**Hey! I finally got her! So what do you want me to do this time?**"

The girl smirked. "It looks like we have a winner." Clare then released much of her yoki as the girl took notice of the sudden release of yoki. "Oh goodness, healing yourself so quickly has caused you to surpass your limit, what an unexpected bonus!"

Dauf aimed for the killing blow. "**I think I'll go straight for your head!**" he fired as Clare move and saved Galatea in the just in time. "**What the…?**" Dauf looked behind him and saw Clare and Galatea both out of harm's way.

The girl was shocked at this as Galatea looked to Clare, who was currently trying to do the last bits opf her healing, still looking feral. "Hey, you okay?" she asked.

Clare was struggling and shuddering. "Come on revert back."

Dauf moved to strike. "**Damn it.**"

"Stop Dauf." The girl ordered, now observing Clare with interest.

"Have to… suppress it…" Clare muttered to herself. "Concentrate!" Galatea looked to her and then closed her eyes and concentrated.

The girl smirked. "Almost there…"

Clare was in pain. "Can't… do it…" She began to raise her claymore to her own throat as the girl watched on amusedly. Then everything stopped and Clare had reverted back to normal.

"What do you know? You were able to reverse the process." Galatea observed.

Clare looked to her. "Was that… did you just do that?" she asked.

"All I did was pull you back over to our side, I believe I'm starting to see why the Organization wanted you found so badly." She mused. "You are very… unique."

"Hey what was that all about?" Asked the girl, gaining the attention of the two Claymores. "I was looking forward to seeing her awaken, a high ranking warrior who can control yoki aura, and a mystery fighter who can surpass her limit. I'm impressed, I think I'll let you join me. I'm sure I can find a use for both of you."

"She's so… powerful. And her yoki is so dark and menacing." Clare observed. "What is she? How can a small child control a yoki that size?"

"In the history of the Organization, there have been only three like her." Galatea explained. "Only three times that a number one has awakened and created such an incredibly power, one during the era of men, and two since they began using women. "The powerful three were unbelievably strong, and to avoid conflict they separated. One to the North, one to the South, and one to the West, and that is where they have stayed. Since then they have remained out of the public eye, and they've come to be known by a new name, 'The Abyssal Ones'."

"'The Abyssal Ones'?" asked Clare, now looking to the girl.

Galatea narrowed her eyes to the girl who simply stared back with bored eyes. "Am I right? Or did I leave something out? 'Riful of the West'?"

"'Riful'? That's her name?" Clare asked.

"She was the first female number one warrior in the Organization. And she reached that status at a younger age than anyone thought possible, before succumbing to her yoma side."

Riful smiled. "You've very young to know about all that." She mused. "But I'm afraid it's not quite accurate. The three of us didn't go separate ways to avoid conflict as you put it, it was by complete coincidence that the territories we chose didn't overlap."

"So why have you suddenly reemerged?" Galatea asked. "And you're not the only one, activity from the other two has been reported as well. Each of you has begun to draw all of the awakened beings in your respective vicinities and into your lair. What I can't understand though is why, what is it you're trying to achieve?"

Riful sighed. "You see… the thing is, the man to the North is picking fights. He's been getting really carried away lately. If you ask me this is all because of that woman he got his hands on."

Clare was intrigued. "What woman?"

"Some awakened being he discovered going on a rampage in the Northern territory, a woman with one horn." Riful explained.

Clare eyes widened. _"Priscilla!"_

Riful continued. "And it's not like I had anything better to do. So I decided to take him on. SO that's why I've been collecting subordinates to use in our war."

"The man in the North…" Clare whispered. "Where can I find him?"

Riful raised a brow. "Huh? What's that? You're speaking so softly I can barely hear you."

"Tell me how to find the Abyssal one in the North!" Clare demanded. "I'm going to hunt that woman down and destroy her!"

Riful smiled a little brighter. "Well then! I suppose that means you know this girl!"

"Shut the hell up and answer me!" Clare demanded. "I want to know his name! Tell me exactly where to find the man in the northern territory."

"That's not a very polite way to talk." Riful said, not at all fearful of Clare's wrath. "Let me think… how about we do this? If you can land even one blow on me I'll tell you what you want to know." Clare moved quickly to strike but was blocked by Dauf. "Too bad. And you were so close." Dauf smashed his palm to the ground, but Clare was gone again. "Look up." Riful said as Dauf blocked another blow, this one even closer than the last, the blade bursting form his palm.

"**Damn you!**" he said smashing his palm against the wall, but only causing rocks to land on his head.

Riful scoffed. "Come on Dauf, this isn't the best time to stop and whine you know."

Clare appeared behind Riful, blade in swing position. Dauf aimed and fired a rod at her, hitting Clare and sending her into a wall.

Riful didn't flinch at all. "I think I'm beginning to understand. It seems intentionally surpassing your limit as opposed to doing so accidently enhances your power and speed, an interesting side effect, but it hasn't helped you." Clare continued to block the rod from hitting her, using her strength and sending it back into Dauf's face, causing him to stagger back.

Clare raised her sword. "It's over, now why don't you turn around and answer my question."

"I would but you haven't cut me, we did have a bargain didn't we?' Riful asked, not turning around to even face her.

Clare growled. "If you really want to die that badly I'll be happy to grant your request!" Clare brought down her blow but Galatea had stepped forth and taken the blade from her.

"I swear, you need more looking after than a child." Galatea sighed, then grabbed Clare by the shoulder and threw her to the side, as Clare began to pick herself up Galatea appeared to shove her face into the ground.

Riful pouted. "Aw, and just when you were getting so close."

Clare shook her head. "What just happened?"

"You came close, you almost awakened." Galatea explained. "You were allowing all her cheap taunts to get to you. That's exactly what they want." Dauf began to pick himself up. "We've got to destroy this monster. If the abyssal one doesn't plan on getting involved then we may still have a chance of getting out of this alive. But in order to do that, you and I are going to need the assistance of the other warrior here."

Clare turned to her. "The other warrior?"

Galatea continued. "Someone with the ability to drive a sword into this beast's armor and she can. She's here but she's down on the lower level now, Jean, the number nine ranked warrior."

"The number nine? Here?' Clare asked.

"She's here but she's in an extremely unstable state, I believe that at any moment she could awaken." Galatea explained. "There's no doubt in my mind that Riful been having here severely tortured, both physically and psychologically. And given what I know about Jean she would choose to die rather than awaken and join these creatures. If she's still alive it's because the choice no longer belongs to her." She drew her sword up. "Get to the lower level and find Jean, I can handle things here, but if she's gone too far, if she's beyond your help, then it's up to you to take Jean's life. Quickly, we don't have much time."

Clare nodded then turned around and ran. Dauf growled. "**Get back here!**" firing a rod at her, Galatea moved to intercept and blocked them. "**I'll get you!**" he said smashing his fist to the ground as Galatea dodged then in midair began to strike Dauf face repeatedly. "**Ow! This hurts way worse than before, stop it!**" Galatea released some of her yoki, her blade catching in Dauf's mouth then with a quick swing, tore through, causing Dauf's face to erupt with purple blood.

Clare raced through the halls. _"Where is she?"_ Jean was beginning to lose control.

Dauf licked his now torn mouth. "**That hurt.**"

Galatea began to release more of her yoki, her body beginning to morph. "This goes against my sense of aesthetics, so I don't do it all that often. When I unleash my yoki, my strength increases at a rate that is unmatched by any of the other forty-seven warriors. I apologize but I believe you'll just have to put up with my new face till we can settle this."

Dauf sneered. "**Please, what do you take me for? You think I'm scared of you? You're gonna die! I'm gonna kill you!**"

Riful giggled. "Smart girl, buy yourself some time."

* * *

><p>Clare arrived in the room and was shocked by what she saw. "I'm… too late. She's gone."<p>

"**Kill me**…" Jean begged. Her awakened form resembles a large graceful butterfly with sharp claws.

Clare drew near as Jean spoke slowly. "**Hurry up… and do it…**"

Clare watched with fear and pity. "Her body has already fully awakened, how is she still in control of her human mind?"

Jean's body began to twitch, still suspended in the air. "**I don't think… I can… suppress it for too much longer…**" Clare watched and raised her sword. "**Trust me… it's the right thing to do. Really it is. Now I can die with dignity…as a human being… not as this monster.**"

Jean closed her eyes, waiting for the final blow. Instead Clare leaped up and hugged Jean's face. "Listen! We have to reverse it!" Clare shouted.

Jean's eyes widened. "**What are you saying? That's impossible. Once you surpass your limit, there's no turning back. No matter what.**" She sobbed. Her body surging yoki again.

"That's not true!" Clare shouted back. "I've done it before myself!" Jean's body began to glow brightly with yoki. "Even if you surpass your limit, it doesn't mean you have no chance of reverting!"

Tears fell from her eyes as Jean looked to Clare. "**I can't fight… I can't… just hurry up… kill me.**"

Clare only held tighter as the yoki began to burst from Jean like a gale. "You have to stay with me! There's still a chance you can revert! Don't give up! Revert!"

Jean struggled with the pain of her body and her mind. "**Please… let me die… as a human!**" Jean screamed one final time as the light from her yoki filled the room.

Jean looked to her hand, it was a human hand. "I'm human. Amazing." Clare walked over covering Jean's naked body with her overcoat.

"You're half-awakened. I don't know how it works exactly but you'll be human for at least a little while longer." Clare explained.

"It almost felt like I was being torn apart before." Jean said recalling the pain.

"I used the same technique Galatea used on me." Clare said. "It's still hard to believe it actually worked." Clare turned her attention back to the matters at hand. "We are in desperate need of your help, that's why I came down here for you."

Jean looked to her. "You need me?" a sudden ruble from above shook the room.

"No time to talk!" Clare observed. "Galatea's approaching her limit.

Jean stood up, now clothed. a look of new determination on her features. "I'm currently number nine. I'd be happy to help you."

* * *

><p>Galatea breathed heavily, a rod currently piercing her body. Riful smirked. "I must say, you've done better than I thought you capable of. I'm so impressed! You unleashed so much of your yoki, I thought you were gonna lose it for a second. And just when I thought you were about to awaken you fought it off somehow. I suppose that's one of the perks of being so highly ranked, huh? Your control and restraint were nothing short of brilliant." She paused as Dauf chuckled. "Well enough talk, it's time you awakened, don't you think? Take care of it for me, would you Dauf?"<p>

"It's about time." Galatea huffed. "It took you long enough."

Jean burst through the floor, Clare following after as she rushed to Galatea side. "Sorry we took so long. You okay?"

"No I'm not." Galatea replied. "He worked me over pretty well, but I think I'll be able to manage it."

Riful smiled a curious smile. "Oh wow. I see you got your friend to revert to her old self. You three are capable of amazing things, and I mean that."

Galatea removed the rod from her body and threw it to the side. Jean stood in front, her sword drawn. "I can keep them busy while you escape. I owe you at least that much. Fact of the matter is you saved my life back there. Now my life is yours to use in any way you see fit, so don't hesitate to do so."

Galatea stepped forward. "While your bravery is noted and appreciated Jean, you wouldn't do much good all by yourself in a situation like this. Our best chance is for number forty-seven and I to move in first and immobilize the creature. In the meantime you standby and wait for the right moment to attack his throat. Of all the active warriors, you have the most powerful single thrust attack. Your ability is our strongest weapon in this fight."

Clare nodded. "When you do this. Make sure you do it for yourself, not for us."

Riful smirked, sitting down. "So… what now?"

"Hold nothing back!" Galatea ordered. She rushed Dauf as he punched for her and she dodged midair slicing his arm as she passed, Clare followed up sending several quick strike along his face. She and Galatea continued like this each staring their attack as the other one finished.

Riful watched with some interest. "Fascinating… attacking from opposite directions, ruins Dauf's focus, allowing the other one to use her special technique"

Jean stood off to the side, he arm twisting again and again over itself. "Thirteen… fourteen… fifteen… sixteen… seventeen…" Galatea and Clare continued their assault as Jean continued to count higher. "Twenty-one… maximum rotations… my sword will land its target square… for a death blow."

Galatea and Clare pinned Dauf's arms to the ground. "We're ready do it now Jean!" Galatea ordered. Jean charged forward as Dauf picked up his pinned arms and smashed Clare and Galatea into one another. Dauf moved to block Jean's attack with his hand but watch with surprise as it was torn apart by Jean's spinning blade, he quickly smacked her to the ground with his other arm, ending her technique.

Dauf looked at his new wound. "**Look at what you did! My finger!**"

Riful smirked. "Looks like we have a winner." Dauf continued to sob over his wound. "That was excellent! I felt like I was watching a play!"

Dauf looked from one ruined hand to the other stub. "**My hands!**" he cried.

"I now see the importance of having friends by your side." Riful mused. "I'd give anything to have the friendship they all share with each other."

"**It's broken! And it's hurting!**" Dauf wailed.

"Hey Dauf!" Riful shouted gaining his attention. "Keep it down will ya? Can't you see I'm trying to revel in a rare sentimental moment over here?"

"**But look at my hands!**" he wailed. "**They… they completely destroyed em!**"

Riful sighed. "Someone with power substantial as yours shouldn't be crying over a little thing like healing your hands . It's like dealing with an infant. Oh well then… I guess we're about done here for now. There's no sense in rushing them to awaken now that we know what we're…" Riful paused as she watch Clare get up, raising her claymore. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked Clare who was glaring at the small abyssal one. ""Oh! I see. The fight's over. There's no need to attack me now. I have no intention of killing you, my plan was to torture you so you would awaken, that's all. Please you must understand all three of you are much more valuable to me alive than dead."

"Hey Jean are you still alive?" Clare asked. Not taking her eyes off Riful.

"Yeah…" Jean replied weakly. "But it a mir… icle."

"Do you think you can do that same attack one more time?' she asked.

Jean grimaced. "It's not something that can be done repeatedly. But if it's just one more time… I think I can handle it."

"I'm sorry.' Clare said. "But I'm going to have to ask you to do it again. I want you to put your life in my hands right now."

Jean smiled weakly. "My life… is already yours."

Clare narrowed her eyes. "One more time then.

Riful sighed once more. "Why must you people be so stubborn? Dauf? Handle them for me. Just don't kill them."

Dauf chuckled as Clare stood firm. "I will open up a clear path for us. Jean, come in behind, and go straight for his throat." Dauf readied himself, rods protruding from his back. "Let's go!" Clare charged as she and Dauf began to fight, Clare dodging his blows as she unleashed the fury of the quick blade.

Riful watched. "Wow. Considering her right arm doesn't belong to her she is quite effective. Although, she can barely handle all the yoki that arm has given her, it's as if she's at the mercy of her completely awakened right arm. Most of all she wastes energy with those excessive swings."

"_Come on Jean."_ Clare thought dodging another rod projectile. _"What taking her so long?"_

"Twenty-one… I'm at maximum rotation." Jean said with finality.

"Take him down Jean! Now!" Clare ordered.

Dauf punched Clare into a wall as he smirked. "Clare, no!" Jean shouted losing some of her concentration.

Dauf took notice of her right arm. "**Oh no, not again! Her arm's all twisted up. Bitch! You're not gonna hurt me again**" he bellowed, rods aimed at her. "**Die!**" he fired, just as they were about to impact a they were all cut to pieces and fell to the floor.

Jean looked and saw Clare standing before her heaving breaths. "Clare!"

"Put your trust in me. Okay Jean?" Clare said. "And we will get through this."

"I already told you. My life is at your full disposal." Jean replied. "I don't care how absurd your orders may be, I will do them."

Clare smiled as Riful continued to observe. "Wow… she got up form that. I won't worry too much, there's no way either of them have enough left in reserves."

Dauf chuckled again. "**Heh. They're walking corpses.**"

Clare's grip on her sword tightened. "Now's our chance to end this! Drive your sword into that monster's throat!"

Jean nodded and charged forward. Dauf snarled. "**idiot! Prepared to be crushed!**"

Clare closed her eyes. "I need to focus. Read my quick sword so that it only reacts to his attacks." Clare's right arm became a blur as Dauf's arms became mired in slashes.

Riful's eyes widened. "Impossible! Her right arm is under her complete control?! Somehow she's able to attack and avoid her friend altogether!"

"**Now I'm mad!**" Dauf bellowed, opening his moth to fire rods but then suddenly closing it.

Galatea sat up. "I'm sorry, but this is about all the help I can give right now."

Jean continued to charge. "Do it right now!" Clare shouted.

Jean made contact as her blade pierced his armor and want all the way through, leaving a gaping hole in Dauf's chest. "I'm going to take his head off!" jean shouted charging again. Just then she was grabbed by large tendrils, holding her in place, which then slammed her into the ground.

Clare and Galatea gasped as they looked to the source, it was Riful, her right arm now a mass of flashy tendrils. "Sorry. I'd love for you to savor your moment of victory, together. I really would. But not today. Dauf here may have his flaws, but at the end of the day he's mine." Clare charged swinging her sword down and burying it in her head. "I'm feeling generous, so I'll count that as a point on your side, sound good to you?" she asked not even slightly off put by the blade in her skull. She then fell apart into tendrils as the fortress' ceiling was destroyed.

The three Claymores now looked upon the true form of the Abyssal One. She had glowing, pupil-less red eyes and retained a feminine humanoid form, composed of green ribbon-like strips. Her lower body was an immense mass of such strips that vaguely resembled a ball gown. "**Aw… You know I was really hoping to end things before it came down to a confrontation like this.**" She picked up Dauf with her tendrils who now seemed minuscule in comparison. "**My poor Dauf…** **I'm sorry to do this to you, but I can't let you die right now can I? Because you're the only one who can truly 'accept' me without 'breaking'.**" She then turned her attention to the warriors three. "**Oh right… I made you a promise didn't I? I believe it was if you could land a single blow on me I would tell you the name of the man in the North, a man you should really be afraid of. Okay then, fair is fair right? All three of you have sacrificed too much to get this far. The man that you seek, is in the northern territory of Alphonse, there in a land, frozen in ice you will find the silver king… Isley.**"

"Silver king Isley." Clare repeated. "In the land of Alphonse, it's worse than I expected."

Riful looked down on her. "**If you want to consider defeating him, then you must join me, it's the only way. Well then warriors, we shall meet again…**" With that Riful and Dauf were gone in a flash, leaving the warriors in the ruins of the fortress.

Jean was the first to break the silence. "How could she… just disappear? So quickly…"

Clare fell to her knees. "Damn it. I never imagined the Abyssal Ones would be so incredibly powerful. And look at me… my abilities are pathetic compared to those things."

"Well now, that's done." Galatea observed, moving on to her other business. "And I must return to my original objective." She turned to Clare. "Number forty-seven, I have been given the task of returning to the Organization, if you follow me quietly then we won't have a problem, you know what will happen if you oppose me."

"I have no intention of going back to the Organization, not right now." Clare replied. "There's something I need to do first that's more important than your task."

"So in other words…" Galatea started. "You would rather launch yourself into another battle right now and end the day as a corpse." Jean got up, turning her blade to face Galatea. "Jean what do you think you're doing?"

"Trust me, this isn't the way I wanted it to happen but she saved my life back there. I gave her my word that my life now belongs to her, and I intend to keep it." Jean said.

"You know by doing this you're defying the Organization." Galatea replied.

"I've already lost my life once before, so the last thing I'll do is compromise my honor to extend my time." Jean shot back.

Galatea looked from one than to the other and grew a small smile, she turned and began walking away, sheathing her claymore as she went. "Fighters of such a low rank have zero chance of surviving a skirmish with an Abyssal one, it would be suicide, and after the creature pulverizes your bodies into millions of tiny pieces any chance of finding you would be slim. In fact it would be an impossible job not worth taking on. Next time that we cross paths it's anyone's guess if I'll embrace you or strike you down, until then I hope you both survive and the best of luck to both of you. You'll need it."

* * *

><p><em>Elsewhere…<em>

* * *

><p>Eli wandered through the forest, trying to make sense of the map he was given to get to the slavers' hideout. "Let's see…" he said walking around a dark area of the forest. "It should be right about.." He tapped the ground in front of him with his steel toed boot. "Here"<p>

Eli reached for a nearby chain and pulled up, revealing a trapdoor in the ground with stair leading into the darkness. "Into the deep then."

Eli descended the stair and came into a dimly lit hallway. He didn't need to walk far before a large iron blocked his path. Eli drew one of his daggers and knocked on the door. A pair of eyes opened a peep hole in the door and focused on Eli. "You want something?"

"Would I have been able to find this place if I wasn't supposed to be here?" Eli replied.

"True." The man said, following the logic. "Still one more thing… what's the password?"

"Uh… swordfish?" Eli asked.

The eyes narrowed and the peephole closed for a minute. Eli frowned getting ready to bust the door down. Then it opened and the man behind the door beckoned him in. _"Huh… that was easy…"_

Eli followed the man down the hall until they came to another door. Heavily armed men flanked the hallways. _"So these slavers have quite the operation here… I doubt I guessed their password right, so the question is, where are they taking me?"_

The man then turned a corner and knocked on the nearby door, it opened and the two stepped inside. There was a table and two chairs.

The man pointed to one of them. "Sit. My employer will be with you shortly."

Eli sat down and waited, after a few minutes the door opened again as s short balm man walked into the room accompanied by two guards.

"Welcome." The man greeted. "I hope that your stay here so far has been pleasant."

"Lovely I assure you." Eli replied.

"Fantastic." The man said sitting down in the other chair. "I'm the owner of this establishment. Call me the Warden." He motioned to the man on his left, this is my head of population control, Drek, and the head of interrogations and entry, Kege." He finished motioning to the other man. "But my real question here is who are you? And What have you come here for?"

Eli leaned forward in his seat. "Let's cut to the chase shall we? The name's Eli, but it's not really important. The reason I'm here is because this is a slaving operation and I'm looking for a slave." He then leaned back and crossed his legs. "But I'll be generous, give me what I want and I'll leave, if you don't things may get a little unpleasant around here."

The Warden smiled wickedly, pressing a button on the side of his chair, cuffs appeared from the chairs' arms and clamped down Eli's arms. "I'm afraid you're in no position to demand anything, in fact I'd say that we have you at our complete and utter mercy."

"One more chance, before I lose my patience. Give me what I need." Eli said his voice not changing even slightly from before.

The Warden got up and turned to leave as he passed Kege he said to him. "Work him over, but leave him alive. He looks like he could be a very good worker." He then left the room, leaving behind Eli and Kege.

The muscular man produced a whip, unraveling it and cracking it in the air. Eli simply looked to the man. "Since you're just on orders I'll give you this one vary last chance, let me go and you get to live." The man smirked and raised the whip, Eli stomped on the ground producing a small blade from his boot and then stabbed Kege in the shin, the man fell over with a curse and the silver haired captive finished the man off with a stab to the head. "Just as well, I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to use these."

Eli struggled for a moment with the metal bands binding him but soon freed himself and walked out the door. He turned left and saw the warden at the far end of another hall. The men all looked to Eli. "All of you! Take him down!" with that he quickly scurried through the door as the men drew their weapons.

Eli slowly reached into his pocket. "Drop your weapons and run or die." The men continued to close in. "So be it." He produced his light grenades and pulled the fuses, covering his ears and shutting his eyes.

The warden heard a great bang from the other side of the metal door, turning to watch, sweat starting to bead down his neck, he looked around, this was the safe room. The only room after this was the key to the deep dungeons where the slaves were kept. The Warden was confident with his chances but it never hurt to have precautions, on the side of the room was a great sturdy metal box, it was a panic box and neigh impregnable from the outside, on top of that there was a latch on the inside that would rocket it to the outside. He couldn't lose.

A large banging at the door then caught his attention. The metal burst inward as a blade was stuck through it, it then began a quick circle around and a small circular piece of metal fell to the floor. An arm reached through and felt around for the latch keeping it shut. It then unlatched it and the bloodied form of Eli stood in its entrance, none too pleased, a patchwork of gore and guts behind him, smearing the walls, floor and ceiling.

Eli pointed towards the warden. "You…" The Warden widened his eyes and ran for the panic box, pushing Drek aside as he locked the inside of the box. Drek looked franticly form Eli to the box, and got down on his knees. "Please don't kill me." He begged.

Eli looked to him and walked up to him. "Put your hands together, as if you were saying a prayer." The man gave him a look of confusion. "Do it NOW!" he shouted and the man quickly complied. Eli then pointed to the wall. "Now press them up against the wall." The man did so, and as fast as lightning Eli pinned his hands to the wall with one of his daggers. Drek tried not to cry as the pain soared through his hands. "Don't go anywhere."

The Warden reached around the seat. "Where is that lever?" He finally found it as there was another knocking at the door. "Ha! You're too late!" With that he pulled the lever as he began to fell the box move upwards, but then it suddenly stopped, it was being pulled back down by a great force. He tried the lever again, but it was no use, it was jammed.

"You're not getting away." A dark vehement voice said from outside.

"And you're not getting to me in here." The Warden replied, although a bit shaken. "I don't know how you stopped my escape to the top, but you can't get to me in here!"

"Oh no?" the voice asked. Suddenly the creaking of metal began to sound and the Warden looked up, the ceiling was beginning to get closer to him. There was more, the sides began to get closer together.

"Wait!" The Warden called out. "We can work something out!" The sides began to close in as the Warden pushed back against the metal trying desperately to stop them. "I have money! Lots of it! And slaves! Women! Fit for your every desire!" They continued closing in as the Warden was now crouched in a fetal position, the walls still moving in. "I can get you anything you want! JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT!" he screamed.

Eli stopped for a moment looking at his handiwork so far, the edges of the box were twisted and bent form where he had forced them into position, and then with a dark smirk leaned in close. "You feel scared yes? Not enough to move around in? No freedom? Quite an experience isn't it, to live in fear?"

"Yes!" the voice sounded form inside, petrified to the core.

Eli frowned. "That is what it means to be a slave." Eli then continued to constrict the box tighter and tighter, ignoring the screams form inside until he heard a pop and stepped back. Blood began to seep from the inside.

Eli then turned to look at Drek who was sobbing with fear now. Eli bent down to his level. "So you're the one who keeps track of all the slaves right?" Drek nodded violently. "Good, now where is the young boy you kidnapped about three months ago?"

Drek stopped for a moment and looked to Eli. "What"

Eli took his dagger and twisted it in the wall, earning more cries from Drek.

"Boy, young, average height and weight, light brown hair?" Eli repeated.

"I don't know!" Drek cried.

"Try… to… remember…" Eli said turning the blade with each word.

"Ah!" The man screamed. "I don't remember…"

"That's too bad." Eli said taking his hand off the blade and positioning his fingers on his skull, he then began to push down, very hard, the fingers began to bore into his head with great pain. "This will keep going until you remember."

The man continued to cry out, blood now seeping Eli's fingers as they tried to make their way through to his brain. "Stop! I remember now!" Eli stopped. "Kege kidnapped him about three months ago… we sold him to a small company in the North… now please… that's all I know I swear…"

Eli smiled. "I believe you." Eli then looked around and saw a key hanging on the wall. He took it and came back. "This is to open that door and to free the shackles of the slaves here right?" The man nodded. "Swallow it." The man looked to the key and then to Eli, his eyes begging for mercy. "Swallow it now, or I break your teeth and force it down you gullet." The man looked uneasily but complied. Eli then grabbed Drek's sword and walked over to the door, ripping it off its hinges with great force. They walked down and many eyes began to eyes them, slaves all chained to the wall by their ankles. Eli then ripped the cell door off its hinges as well and threw Drek inside along with the sword. "If you want your freedom the key is in his stomach." Eli informed. The slaves widened their eyes at this, looked to each other and then bounded on Drek as Eli made his way out, accompanied by screams of agony and chorus of cheers at long awaited revenge. _"To Alphonse then. I'm almost there Raki."_

* * *

><p><em>In a slaving holding cell in the North…<em>

* * *

><p>There was a great rumbling that caught the attention of the slaves. Muffled screams and roars could be heard in the distance.<p>

"What about the slaves?" Asked one of the guards.

"Forget them man! Save yourself!" another shouted.

The slaves all began to panic as the rumbling and roaring continued along with the screaming in the distance. Just then Stones from overhead began to fall down, freeing some of the slaves as their confinement was destroyed.

Elan and Raki watched with envy as they ran towards the surface and the two called out to them asking for help.

A large section of the ceiling loosed itself above Raki as Elan widened his eyes. "Watch out!" he shouted pushing Raki out of the way.

"Elan!" Raki called out, the dust cleared as Raki looked on with horror. The rocks had crushed Elan's lower torso, leaving him near death. Raki crawled over and held Elan's hand. "Hold on! Don't die! I can help we-"

"Raki…" Elan whispered, gaining Raki's attention.

"Yes?" Raki asked trying to lean in close and hear.

"Thank you my friend." With that Elan's hand went limp as Raki sat back, shocked at his friends' death.

A piece of rock loosed itself form the ceiling and hit Raki on the head, knocking him out cold as he fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p><em>Hours later…<em>

* * *

><p>Raki woke up to silence and looked around. He was alone, all the cells were either deserted or lined with corpses. It was silent, dead silent.<p>

Raki looked over to the pile of rocks that Elan had been crushed by, but quickly turned away, unable to look further. He then looked to the gate of his cell, it had been damaged and Raki saw how it could be used to escape from. Raki squeezed through the hole and walked out of the gloomy dungeon and with that he made his way into the falling snow of a ruined town. _I can't die yet… I gotta keep going for Clare's sake… for Eli's sake…_ he paused. _"For Elan's sake, I won't let your death mean nothing, I promise."_

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile…<em>

* * *

><p>"It's no good!" Another Claymore shouted over the driving snow "They got-" Just then she was stuck down by a mighty blow.<p>

"No!" The Claymore leader shouted. She then turned to the great beings in front of her, knowing that their doom was at hand.

* * *

><p><em>Somewhere in the mountains near Clare...<em>

* * *

><p>A man in lack stood in the dark hallways. "That was Riful just now... So... do you think you could win?" He asked looking to the Claymore with him.<p>

She considered for a moment. "As i was only able to catch a glimpse of the outer layer of her power, i cannot give a precise estimate right now. I believe i would deal about fifty percent damage to her and then die."

The man entwined his fingers, thinking. "So we still have a ways to go." He turned to the Claymore. "We're heading back. We will be raising your power and speed thirty percent step by step from now on. Understand that the strain on your body will double."

"Understood. The strain on my body will double." She acknowledged.

The man smirked. "You are the strongest in our annals... Alicia."

* * *

><p><strong>Done. A month and a half, not too shabby if I say so myself. I thought maybe that Clare's story was the best of the three, and I'll be honest I kinda half-assed Eli's and Raki's stories a little too much for my liking. Anyways, I hope it was at least a satisfactory read, see you soon.<br>**


	11. Ch 11: The End of the Beginning

**You know you could probably skip this chapter I'm sure nothing important happens.**

**I don't own Claymore.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 11: The End of the Beginning<p>

Clare walked through the forest, the daylight pouring in through the spaces in the leaves above as she passed without a sound. She stopped. "How long do you intend to follow me?" she asked without turning around to her companion.

"As I told you my life is yours." Jean stated simply. "Even if it take a while I will not leave your side until I have repaid that debt."

Clare inwardly sighed and turned to face her. "Boy. What a inconvenient personality to have. To us saving others and getting saved should be totally banal." She turned back around. "Besides I've already received my compensation from you."

Jean raised a brow at this. "What?" Clare turned and swinger her sword around in Jean's direction missing the warrior completely but annihilating the tree behind her. Jean remained passive but impressed. "Superb. Does that mean you can already freely choose which targets to avoid and which ones to hit?"

"This move is something I have obtained from you." Clare stated. Jean raised her brow again, still unsure as before. "Until recently I did not think the quicksword as something that could be controlled. I just assumed it was part of the nature of the technique, the concept of control didn't even occur to me. But seeing you in that dungeon changed my way of thinking. Keeping your human heart while your body awakened, you showed me something I thought impossible before. It was surprising, but at the same time I realized the strength of pure human will is strong. And that's when I thought of trying it and threw away all my previous conceptions about the quicksword and tried controlling it through will alone." She turned to face Jean again. "The result was a quicksword that reacted to yoki, and while I wouldn't call it complete it was thanks to you I came up with it at all."

Jean simply stared at Clare, thinking on the words. But a sudden sound from the side quickly drew the attention of both Claymores. 'Well, I did find you, but there are two of you." The new figure stated. "Which one of you is Clare?" asked the figure, who was another Claymore, the one known as Rafaela.

Jean's eyes widened. "Impossible I didn't sense anything at all." She said. Clare grimaced as she recognized the emblem from Miria's carvings.

"You seem surprised." Rubel noted as he stepped into the scene. "Out of all the Claymores she is the best at suppressing her yoki, making her perfect for undercover business." He paused for a moment thinking. "Well, rather than suppression it just comes from years and years without ever using yoki.

Clare looked surprised at the sight of her old handler and reached for her blade. "Don't." Rubel advised. "Even if you both attack you can't win against her, she's a little special you see."

Jean gritted her teeth. "Galatea… what did you do with her?"

Rubel mused. "Abandoning her mission… telling such blatant lies… that is clearly traitorous conduct against the Organization. After she gave her report… she was executed on the spot." Clare and Jean gasped in unison. "That is what I would like to tell you anyways. But sadly she's still quite useful to the Organization. Taking her previous merit into account we spared her life. She'll keep getting tough missions but if she manages to survive… well, good for her then.

Clare and Jean both grimaced. "What… about me then? Am I to be executed when we get back?"

Rubel gave a little chortle. "Naaah… because you did stuff like manage to save allies despite being on the run, the Organization will pardon you, that is if you do exceedingly well on your next mission."

Clare relaxed a bit. "A… mission?

"A group of awakened beings have appeared in the North and have killed number seven along with a few others, your task will be to eliminate those monsters." Rubel explained, Clare and Jean both attentive to the details of their new assignment. "Of course we can't just send one or two people to do it, so you'll actually be part of a task force. The Organization is actually a little shorthanded right now so they're willing to let a few things slide to keep out forces up." Clare paused and Rubel frowned. "I don't see why you are hesitating at this. This is a one in a lifetime chance to absolve you of your previous transgressions and let you back into the good graces of the Organization." He shrugged his shoulders and turned to leave. 'Oh well, I'm certainly in no hurry. After all you both now know we can track you down and behead you before you even have time to react." He began to walk away but then stopped. "Oh right, almost forgot. The boy with you he was captured by slave traders and carted off to the north.: Clare gasped at this. "Being the location of both your mission objective and your personal goal the north seems to be the place to be for you."

Clare gritted her teeth. "Rubel… you bastard."

Rubel put his hands up in defense. "No misplaced suspicions now. Everyone knows that the young slaves are always carted off to only two places, boys head north while girls are shipped to the east. Because…" he said with a small yet sinister grin. "The north and the east are always short on manpower." The three Claymores were silent at this. "It's not like you had many choices anyways. In fact it seems to boil down to one of two things for you… survive or die."

* * *

><p><em>A distance west of Clare and Jean…<em>

* * *

><p>A Claymore walked briskly through the town, along with two other following shortly behind her. The usual gawk and stars followed the warriors as they strolled by, the gazes not leaving until they were out of sight. A man in a long trench coat watched as they walked by, sipping on tea as they passed. "<em>Seven, eight and nine."<em> He thought. _"That's how many have passed through here today." _his eyes narrowed. _"Something's drawing Claymores to the North. But aside from a few scant towns, there's only…"_ he grimaced at the thought as the mental image of a long silvery haired man entered his mind. _"Isley. That bastard's been making a small army for himself for decades, with that many awakened beings under his command, the north is indisputably his, the organization know this, so why?"_ he relaxed a bit and closed his eyes. _"Let's see…" _He reached out with his senses. _"Nine… thirteen… eighteen,,, twenty-two… twenty-four…"_ He opened his eyes. "Twenty-four warriors? Against Isley's force? That isn't a fight, it's an execution. The Organization's cleaning house, having all these warriors killed. They'd all end up dying and they wouldn't even put a dent in Isley's numbers, and those last two I felt, unmistakably Clare's and someone else's, perhaps a single-digit, but why would she…" he paused for a moment then smiled. "Ah, so that's what that disturbance was that I felt in the west, Riful, you spiteful old bitch… what are you up to?" He drank the rest of his tea, then produced his pipe, stuffed and lit it, breathing in the fumes and letting them back out, the smoke wafting and encircling him. "Hmm… never mind her for now. If I don't do something, Clare and all the rest will be annihilated off the face of the planet. That being said even if I help out, the chances of any of them surviving fall below five percent, and winning? Forget it. Even I can only really handle one or two at a time, maybe three if they're not particularly strong. But… I can't just let them die, not if there's even a fraction of a chance to do something about it." Eli stood up inhaling deeply before looking to the sky. "No choice. Time to head to the home region, back to Alphonse."

* * *

><p><em>In The Northern Town Pieta<em>

* * *

><p>The townspeople looked around astonished looks on their faces. "Oi, What is this?" One whispered to another "Claymores. This place is crawling with those silver eyed witches."<p>

Clare and Jean had just arrived, wearing newly issued Claymore outfits, and were looking at the worn down town. "The northern town of beginnings Pieta."

"I have received equal compensation from you. So as I said, there's really no need for you to follow me around any further, Jean." Clare reiterated.

"I would hardly call that equal." Jean replied. "Besides even if I left you and returned to the Organization, they'd just send me on this mission anyways."

Clare looked at her and sighed. "God, you really are-" she stopped as she sensed a blade being drawn and coming at her.

Clare quickly blocked it, before identifying the attacker and looking a little surprised. "Ha ha ha ha ha! So you're still alive, eh? It's been a while Clare!" the boisterous Claymore shouted with a grin.

"Helen." Clare said, before a sword strike came flashing beside her head, knocking Helen away. Helen back flipped and landed in a crouch. Jean was about to follow up when a blade was pressed to her throat. Jean winced as her assailant addressed her in a calm voice. "Don't disturb the greeting of an old friend in such an unrefined fashion. "Deneve." Clare said addressing the second Claymore.

Jean frowned, twisting her arm and knocking Deneve's sword away. "How undignified for a greeting. Even between old friends something like that requires gratitude.

Helen sneered. "What's this Clare? You teamed up with some stuck up bitch again? Oi! What's your number? I'm twenty-two and she's fifteen, so let's hear it."

Jean backed off but kept her sword at the ready. "My name is Jean. I am ranked number nine."

Helen's mouth dropped as Deneve merely observed. "What the hell? That's a single-digit! Why does it look like you're treating her as a higher rank?"

"She saved my life, therefore it is hers right now." Jena responded.

Helen looked dumbfounded. "I see. But you know she's number forty-seven right? That's dead last, dead last! A single digit serving miss dead last? What the hell?!

Jean stepped forward, as if in defense to Clare. "My life was saved by Clare. In what way are our ranks relevant to that fact?"

Deneve looked at her for a moment the closed her eyes and smiled, sheathing her claymore. "I see. I thought single-digits were impossible to get along with… but apparently that is not the case after all. I am number fifteen Deneve. Sorry for that just now, but Helen had no ill intentions. Please believe that much."

Jean sheathed her sword. "No. I overstepped my bounds as well. Those weren't words to friends who fought side by side. Forgive me."

Helen looked between the two before bowing her head slightly and smiling to Jean. "I'm number twenty-two Helen, sorry for acting up by the way." She put her hand behind her head and smiled awkwardly to Deneve. "Oh boy, now I feel a little awkward."

"You're just a natural born trouble maker." Deneve responded.

A Claymore with long wavy hair stepped forward to address everyone. "Please everyone assemble. There will be a synoptical explanation for this operation now. My name is Flora, I am the Organization's number eight."

"Huh, so that's number eight huh? Don't see several single-digits at once every day." Helen then addressed Flora directly. "If there are more than one single-digits then that mean the one with the highest rank is the leader right? So, is it you?"

Flora turned to her. "No, there is one ranked higher than me and she is the leader."

"Huh?" Helen questioned, wondering who it could be. Then a warrior appeared with a long silvery shag cut. "Miria!" she shouted. As Deneve and Clare looked similarly pleased to see a familiar face.

Miria smiled at them. "It has been a while, so we were actually able to all make it back to each other alive huh?"

The other Claymores whispered to each other in awe. "That's number six, Phantom Miria."

Miria turned to address everyone present. ""Everyone, thanks you for your effort of gathering here from your own districts. My name is Miria, my rank is number six. I will serve as your leader for this operation. There are probably some among you who already know the details, but I do believe there are quite a few of you who came here without hearing anything and were then shocked when they learned about the number of casualties that this case has cost already. The mission this time is the extermination of several awakened beings that have formed a group and are now causing mayhem in these northern lands of Alphonse. We are this many because we will face a multitude of awakened beings."

Many of the warriors gasped at the news. "Impossible!" one shouted. "A multitude of awakened beings?! But awakened beings never form groups!"

"This is the reality." Miria stated. "The fact is that number seven and several other warriors who were trusted with this before have already lost their lives."

Another round of gasps went off at the news, before a boisterous voice broke the small pause. "If you're wetting your pants already, just run away now. You prissies." The voice originated from a long pale haired woman who had a rather bulky and muscular appearance. "Our duty is to kick yomas ass any time, any place. Someone who looks at the enemy and gets scared is just too damn useless. Better if you quit before you start." Miria gazed at the brutish warrior, unimpressed while other Claymores scowled at her.

"Who's that? Pretty arrogant, and she's carrying two swords." Helen whispered to Deneve.

"Number eleven Undine." Deneve identified. "The two sword style is part of her persona as the self-proclaimed 'Strongest of all the Claymores'. But if you ask me flaunting around those muscles which really aren't needed outside of battle in such an ostentatious manner makes her nothing but a show off."

"Whoa…"Helen said surprise at Deneve's open disgust.

Undine overheard and looked their way. "What was that just now?" she asked Deneve. "Who're you talking to, huh?"

Deneve was unperturbed. "Sorry, I didn't intend for you to hear that, my voice seems to be rather loud by nature."

Undine sneered. "Heh… very interesting, you bitch."

"Come on, stop it already Dene-" Helen began when she heard an argument behind her.

"You want trouble huh?" One Claymore asked another.

"Fine with me! Just try it!" another replied.

"Try saying that again!" The first said.

"You're the one who should watch her mouth!" the other retorted.

"Try that when we're fighting an awakened being! If you can that is!"

Open arguments began to happen all across the clearing as one Claymore insulted another and retorts were fired back.

Helen sighed, leaning on Clare's shoulder. "Oh man… even if you draw four or five of them for an awakened being hunt, there are always some people who have to act retarded. Poor Miria."

Miria watched the scene unfold and sighed, taking a step forward to intervene she was beaten to the punch as another warrior stepped forward. Flora stepped forward as the ground around her exploded, gaining the attention of all around her. "Everyone, please be quiet. Miria has not finished yet." He eyes narrowed slightly. "Those of you who think they still won't be able to shut up I will take care of personally." There was silence and even a few glares but nothing more as Flora turned to Miria. "Well then, if you would be so kind to continue Miria."

Miria stepped forward. "Sure."

Helen watched with astonishment. "What the Hell was that? All the snow around her was just blown away."

"She merely drew her sword and made a single swing." Jean explained. Clare and Helen looked to her as she continued. "The Organization's number eight, Flora. Also known as 'Windcutter' Flora. She outclasses every other warrior when it comes to drawing her sword, slashing, and sheathing all in a split second. She is said to be the number one at drawing so quickly the eyes can't follow in any case."

Flora looked over to the trio. "Jean." Flora addressed.

"Oh, excuse me. Please continue." Jean apologized.

Flora shook her head. "No. Since you are a single digit too, please come here."

"Ah yes, you're right." She acknowledged.

"Number eleven Undine, Number thirteen Veronica, please step forward." Undine and a warrior with braided hair in a ponytail stepped forward to join Miria, Flora and Jean.

"Each of you will be a commanding officer. All in all we are twenty-four people, I will now form five teams with us as the five leaders. Each team's strength will range between four and five people. In other words, the same kind of teams normally used for awakened being hunts." The four acknowledged with a nod as Miria turned to the remaining warriors. "Alright then. I will separate you into teams. The assigning will be conducted having an optimal degree of our battle potential's distribution in mind as a goal. There will be no objections."

"Number fourteen Cynthia: Number thirteen Veronica's team. Number fifteen Deneve: Number eleven Undine's team. Number seventeen Eliza: Number nine Jean's team. Number eighteen Lily: Number eight Flora's team. Number twenty Queenie: Miria team. Number twenty-two Helen: Veronica team. Number twenty-six Zelda: Undine team. Number twenty-seven Emelia: Jean team. Number thirty Wendy: Flora team. Number thirty-one Tabitha: Miria team. Number thirty-five Pamela: Veronica team. Number thirty-six Claudia: Undine team. Number thirty-seven Natalie: Jean team. Number thirty-nine Karla: Flora team. Number forty Yuma: Miria team. Number forty-one Matilda: Veronica team. Number forty-three Juliana: Undine team. Number forty-four Diana: Jean team. Number forty-seven Clare: Flora team. That's all." She finished, looking to the warriors. "My team consists of four people meaning the others should have five people. Is there anyone who has no team yet?" There was silence. "Alright then use today to get used to each other. It's not really a special strategy or anything. The regular basics of one team against one awakened being don't change. If we come up against two or more awakened beings we will counter with two or more teams as well. Don't try anything heroic. Stay your distance and make sure that under no circumstances do you fight more than one of them at a time. The operation starts tomorrow. As you should be feeling the fatigue from the long journey. Rest your bodies well today.

* * *

><p><em>A few hours later…<em>

* * *

><p>The winds howled as the snow came down over the mountains . Clare entered a cave where Miria, Deneve and Helen waited. "Yo, I hope you weren't followed." Helen said to Clare.<p>

"Just like you and the others here I'm rather bad at getting along with people. Which is why I wasn't particularly interested in where the others went."" Clare replied.

Helen raised her sword, gaining the attention of the others. "Well, let's commemorate our reunion." She said.

The four interlocked swords as Miria spoke. "I'm glad to see you all alive and well."

Helen snickered. "Anyways, our position hasn't been quite as dangerous as yours. How has it been going?"

Miria sighed. "I've been basically using every trick in the book, and somehow I managed."

Helen sensed a presence outside and turned towards the entrance. "Who's there? Show yourself!" she ordered. In Walked Jean. "You…" she turned to Clare. "So, you were followed after all, Clare!"

"No you misunderstand." Clare replied. "Jean is in the same situation as us."

The three exchanged looks of surprise as Jean addressed them. "I see. So you are that kind of comrades. I didn't intend to spoil a reunion between veteran friends but I do believe this concerns me as well."

Deneve and Helen gave pause, but Miria simply nodded her head. "I see, alright then." She turned to Clare. "I would like to hear the rundown, Clare please explain."

Clare nodded. "Okay…" with that Clare told the story of her encounter with Riful and the rescue of Jean.

After which Miria spoke. "Recovery from a completely awakened body, I can't believe it. Most likely the result of extraordinary will power, I doubt it's something that we could do as well."

Jean simply gave a blank look as Helen's jaw dropped. "What's with the face?" asked Deneve.

"Wait a second, what is all this Clare?! How on Earth did you get out of such a hopeless situation?!" Helen asked astonished. "Riful? Galatea? Abyssal Ones? What the Hell?"

Miria then spoke up. "I already noticed earlier but, that right arm is different too right? The arm of someone pretty powerful, Whose?" she asked.

"Huh?" Helen asked. "Right arm?"

"Sorry, but I can't tell you that." Clare responded. "Only this much, I did lose my own right arm in battle and the right arm I have now is in fact borrowed from a certain person."

Miria stood up. "A while ago I heard you were on the run from the Organization. Never mind about the arm your situation in general doesn't seem to be looking too good."

Clare replied. "But that's not just me. It's something that can be said about you four… no, about all twenty-four who have gathered here at this time as well." The other three stood in silence. "How would you assess the whole operation's chances of succeeding?"

Miria entwined her fingers. "For this operation… the chances of success are zero."

"What?!" Helen burst out.

"Maybe if this was just about a multitude of awakened beings, we could somehow pull through. Or rather even if chances were slim it wouldn't be impossible for us to succeed. But with the presence of the one behind them, whatever elaborate tactics and strategies, whatever reinforcements and whatever else we may try it all becomes utterly futile."

The silver king of the North, Isley." Clare finished.

"You knew?" Miria asked.

"Yeah, I heard it in that last battle from Riful of the west." Clare replied.

"The abyssal one Isley." Helen repeated slowly.

"This unusual conduct the awakened being have been exhibiting was something caused by Isley from the start. In other words, the true scale of this operation is the extermination of not only every single awakened being in the north, but also the abyssal one, Isley." Miria continued.

"Every awaked being and the abyssal one Isley?" Helen repeated. "There's no freaking way we can do that! What the hell is the Organization thinking?!"Helen caught herself as she realized how loud she had bellowed.

Miria continued. "Most likely, the Organization is merely trying to buy time with this. We will serve as a roadblock for the awakened beings who are steadily marching south. They left the numbers down to five with the Organization ready for use, in addition to them, they singled out the ones who appeared to be the most obedient and sent all of the rest to the north. 'There are as many replacements as we want.' 'If we lose them, we can just make new ones.' That is what the Organization is thinking. We are nothing but a bulwark against the north that will eventually crumble and fall. In other words, we are completely expendable."

* * *

><p><em>Outside of Pieta…<em>

* * *

><p>Three cloaked figures stood out in the snow, looking towards the town. "Oh, so this is Pieta?" asked one.<p>

"If you don't go through there you have to make your way through the harsh mountain ranges on either side." Another observed. "it really is the town where the northern lands begin." The third quipped.

But they sure gathered quite a bunch, how many are there?" the first asked.

"Err… wait a sec… twenty… twenty-four people." The second informed.

"Ahahah, that's more than half of them!" the first replied. "In the end, it's not like it will matter how many are there though."

"So… what do we do?" The third asked.

"'Do'? We were only asked to do front line reconnaissance." The second reminded.

The first began to morph. "Since so many of our 'junior brethren' have assembled, it's a good opportunity to give them a **proper welcome.**"

The group in the cave stirred as they felt the release of the massive yoki, as well as the Claymores in Pieta. "Damn it! They have taken the initiative!" Miria cursed as she ran out followed by the others.

"Now see… I can't allow something like that." A voice cut in.

"**Huh?**" the large armored awakened being turned towards the source of the voice. It was a silvery haired man dressed in a trench coat and a huge bandaged cross-like object on his back. His eyes were hidden by goggles with dark glass. "**Heh. You got some guts for a human. I'll bet they're delicious.**"

The second man widened his eyes. "No way, that's impossible…" he said taking a step back.

The armored awakened being turned his head towards the man. "**What are you talking about?**"

"Don't you guys recognize him? That's Elijah!" The man said pointing.

The being winded his eyes and turned back. "**Impossible, I heard he died.**"

Eli spoke. "Afraid not. Your friend is right. It's me, Eli."

The being then threw back its head and laughed. "**Hahahah! I don't believe it! A single digit from the male times! A living relic! Here of all places!**"

Eli chuckled lightly at the thought. "Yes I suppose we all are relics, huh?"

The being ceased his laughter. "**Well, now Elijah, I can't believe after all this time you still haven't awakened.**"

Eli shrugged. "I guess it's never interested me."

"**Hmm…**" The being paused. "**We were just about to go over there and annihilate the Claymores over there, you're not part of this so just leave and we might not kill you.**"

"And if I don't?" Eli asked.

"Isn't that obvious?" The second man asked as he too morphed along with his compatriot. He into an armadillo and the other into a large armored insectoid.

"**Listen Elijah.**" The armored being said. "**We could kill you right now, if you don't take this chance we'll have to crush you. Even if you escape, know that all of the North is Isley's now, even now he moves his army to crush that pitiful force of Claymores.**"

Eli drew his sword and dropped his coat, assuming a stance. "Then I'll make this quick."

The beings roared and charged.

* * *

><p>Miria arrived in town with the others and surveyed the scene, she had expected many deaths and much destruction of the town before she even had a chance to get there. But there was nothing. The townspeople were perturbed by all the Claymores with their swords drawn for battle but everything seemed fine.<p>

"_What's going on here?_" she thought as she and the other raced for the entrance of the town, where all the other Claymores had gathered. "We felt a large yoki, where is it?" Miria asked.

One of the Claymores, Queenie, spoke up. "Can't you tell? They're out there." She said pointing into the driving snow. "We felt four yokis all power up out there, but it looks like they're fighting."

"Fighting? As in each other?" Deneve asked.

She nodded. "I guess they had some sort of disagreement, lucky huh?"

One of the yokis suddenly went out. "One of them is dead." Miria observed. Another soon followed, only two remained. "What on Earth is going on here?" The third finally waved and then quit, the forth disappeared quickly after. "They're suppressing their yoki." Miria said. "Everyone! Get in formation and prepare for battle!"

The warriors complied and some gathered on rooftops, the villagers all huddled inside, waiting for the worst.

A silhouette appeared in the distance, it was heavily cloaked and walked with slow gradual steps, then in a flash it disappeared and reappeared in the center of town. The figure looked up to the sky. "**HAHAHAHAH! Come on out denizens of Pieta! Do as I say and your deaths will be mercifully quick!**"

The Claymores appeared in an instant in the square in the center of town. "Undine team move in! Everyone else on stand-by!" Miria ordered.

Undine smirked and drew her blades. "No sweat. This'll be over in an instant."

The figure's mouth opened revealing a set of large jagged teeth and yellow orbs glowing beneath its hood. "**Come and try.**" It said motioning with its fingers in a "bring it" gesture.

"Don't fall for such obvious taunts! Use caution!" Miria ordered. "We are twenty-four warriors in five teams! If we go as planned we will succeed!

Undine grunted. "Yeah, whatever."

The being chuckled. "**You should listen to her. She's much more intelligent than you.**"

Undine scowled. "That is it!" she bellowed and charged with her tam following close behind. The being ran forward and from beneath his cloak produced two massive claws on either hand. Deneve was the first to strike as she came from the side with a swing, the being caught the blade with its metallic fingers and grinned at her. Juliana and Claudia came from behind and struck one going high and the other going low, the being let go and jumped and ducked at the same time, going between the blades then it kicked both in the gut sending the two across the pavement. Undine brought her swords in from the sides as it stood up, it quickly put up its claws in defense and blocked the incoming blades, it then planted its foot in her face causing Undine to stumble back. Zelda came from above as she attempted to strike it down. But just as it seemed her blade made contact, the being's head split in two then its neck and all the way down its body till there were two brings, who dogged out of the way, jumping in opposite directions.

Miria's brows furrowed as some of the other Claymores gasped. "Two now?"

The beings smiled at each other the one who had dogged left still held up his massive clawed hands to continue, the other though had massive sinewy arms and legs. "**It seems that I've been torn up about this whole affair.**" The clawed being said. The muscle bound being cackled to the sky. "**My thoughts exactly! I always knew great minds think alike!**" The clawed one turned to his clone. "**But why stop at two? The more the merrier!**" he bellowed and with that both beings shuddered and each produced a second set of clones, after which the clawed one shudder again and produced a third clone, making five nearly identical beings. The third had hands the size of watermelons and as black as night, it pounded them against the ground shattering the pavement. The fourth had two small claws on each hand, but they suddenly extended and retracted, acting like long sharp whips with blades along the sides, into a building causing the structure to collapse. The last had two large blades for each arm, large butcher-esq blades. "**Five teams right? It'll be fair this way!**" They said in unison, now all of them bellowing, before four of the five disappeared, the sinewy one staying behind as the other scattered in different directions around town.

Miria gritted her teeth. "Flora team, after the one with arm whips! Jean team, after the large fisted one! Veronica team, after the clawed one! My team, follow me after the bladed one! Undine team, stay here and deal with the muscular one!"

The Claymores dispersed to the different parts of the city. Undine held up her swords and grinned. "This is gonna be fun." She and her team charged.

* * *

><p>Flora's team arrived just in time to see the whipped one reach forward to grab a girl. Wendy rushed forward and struck at the tentacle, the blade bounced off but receded as the girl turned and ran. Flora came from behind and quickly tried to behead the being but to no avail as it blocked with an armored tentacle. Lily, Wendy and Karla jumped in the air preparing to strike down. The being simply roared and knocked away Flora, then using the moment to fire its arms up toward them. They blocked and caught themselves as they fell back to the ground. Clare then rushed forward with her blade in hand. The being turned its attention to her. Flora called out to her. "Stop! You're too weak all alone!" The being brought down its arms on her only for her right blade arm to disappear for a moment and in a flash severed one of the arms. The others widened their eyes at this and the being roared in pain using the other arm to wrap around her ankle and throw her into a building causing her to bounce off the stone and hit the hard ground, dropping her claymore in the process. Flora jumped to her aid. "Clare! What was-" she was interrupted as the being swung its whip arm across, nearly hitting them as they jumped to the roofs. The others all gathered together on the roof top the five of them staring down on the awakened being who simply snarled at them.<p>

"This guy's tough!" Wendy observed.

"Yes, he is quite the adversary." Flora nodded. "But I have an idea, you three stay on the roof for as long as you can, lure it up here, Clare and I will take care of the rest."

"Are you kidding?" asked Lily.

"No. This'll work. I just need to guys to buy me and Clare a little time." Flora replied.

With that she disappeared over the other side of the roof as Clare followed. The being wasted no time as it extended its arms up towards them, the Claymores knocked them away and the being roared and jumped high into the air. The three watched as it extended its arms again as it fell towards their roof, they knocked the arms away again and the being landed on the roof top. Just then the roof top exploded upwards as Flora and Clare appeared. "Ready Clare?" Flora asked. Clare nodded and the two in unison moved their arms without sight or sound. The being froze for a minute before it exploded in a mass of pool and blood. "Nice work everyone."

* * *

><p>Veronica's team arrived to see the clawed being waiting for them. He stuck out his tongue and licked his lips, drool seeping from his mouth.<p>

Helen gave a disgusted look as Veronica stepped forward. "Okay everyone, charge!" she ordered.

Cynthia tried for a downward strike from above but the being was too fast, dogging to the side and slamming its foot into the side of her face at the last minute sending her flying away. Pamela and Helen charged together towards the being the swung in unison, but both their blades were caught by the metallic fingers of the being. Veronica, seeing an opening rushed forward, the being grunted pushing Pamela in the way, only for Veronica to gracefully flip over her and slash downwards , cutting off the arm holding Helen's blade as the being hissed in pain and the warriors backed off for a moment. The clawed entity held its stub left arm with its right, hissing and snarling. "This is the chance to finish him!" Veronica shouted. All five charged forward, Matilda slashed first the being jumping back in defense. Veronica, Cynthia and Pamela jumped high into the air and in unison pointed their blades down. The being snarled and tense its legs, preparing to move when it felt a quick and sharp pain in its legs, it looked down to see that they had been sliced off by a long whip like arm and turned its head to see the smirking face of Helen. The being landed on its back and the three came down hard, their Claymores impaling him threefold.

Helen retracted her arm. "Heh, wasn't so tough."

* * *

><p>The large fisted awakened being smashed through a door in a nearby house, it looked around till it spotted a man and a woman cowering off to the side. The being began to rush towards them, till Eliza came crashing through the window, drop-kicking the being in the side of the head, sending it through the opposite wall. Eliza looked to them. "Go! Get out while you can!" she shouted to them. The complied as quickly as they could, while the being picked itself up then rushed her, bringing its enormous hand down on her. She quickly blocked with her claymore, only for the unexpected weight to push her into the ground, Emelia and Diana rushed in and flanked it on its sides. The being grunted, preforming a quick spin with its arms outstretched, the massive fists knocking into the warriors and sending them flying away.<p>

The being then stepped out onto the street, Natalie charging and bringing down her blade, the being raised its hand and deflected the blow. Jean observed as the others fought. _"Hmm… normal attacks won't cut it. No choice then."_ She began to twist her arm over and over again, the tension building up in her body. The claymores tried striking against the foe, their blows were useless against the thick hide. _"21… rotations"_ she thought, then she charged, the being took notice and knocked the others away with ease, Jean held her arm forward and the being seemed to be tensing the muscles in his arm. _"Now!"_ with that Jean let the tension release as her arm began to spin rapidly into a drill, the being attacked with the blunt of his hardened knuckles. The sparks began to fly as the drill seemed to not be enough and the being grinned, but then stopped, a crack appeared and the drill exploited it as it continued annihilating the being's fist, going all the way through the arm and eviscerating the head. Jean caught her breath as it was over, the other warriors pleased at a job well done. "Finished."

* * *

><p>The sinewy being laughed as another blow bounced off his hide. "<strong>Please… is this all you got?<strong>" it said blocking Claudia's blow, then grabbing her and throwing her into Zelda.

Undine gritted her teeth, frustrated at the huge mass of muscle that was her enemy. Deneve stood next to her. "Commander, if I may?"

Undine turned to her, but didn't take her eyes off the being. "What is it?"

"I think I may have a plan. If you can distract the being I think I can help turn the tide of this battle." Deneve replied.

Undine snorted. "Heh. Right, fine then have it your way. Just try not to fuck it up!" she shouted charging at the being as he knocked Juliana away. Undine brought a double blow down with her swords, the being blocked with the long of his arm, the blades barely making incisions in the sin. The being smirked but then its smile dropped as it felt something in its chest. It looked down to see the tip of a claymore protruding from its sternum. The being 's muscles slightly relaxed. Undine, taking advantage of its distraction retrieved her blades and jumped up and came back with a downward slash, cutting off the massive arms of the being. The being stumbled back, looking from one severed stump to another before looking to the sky and letting its head slide back and fall to the ground.

Deneve sheathed her blade, satisfied with the finishing blow. Undine gave a cocky smirk at Deneve who simply returned it with her usual look of indifference, with the exception of a small grin playing on her lips.

* * *

><p>Miria's team arrived in time to see the bladed being cut down a denizen of Pieta. Miria was the first to charge forward, the being stuck out at her, only for her form to disappear, it then stuck behind and hit a target cutting Miria across the stomach. "Miria!" the three shouted in unison.<p>

Miria stood up. "Don't worry about me! Yuma look out!" she warned, but too late. Yuma who had looked away saw as her sword arm and claymore flipped into the air, she crouched down in pain and cried out as Queenie and Tabitha charged forward and struck. The being raised it arms and blocked the duel attack, jumping back a ways as Miria tended to Yuma. "Are you alright?" Yuma nodded slightly through the pain and Miria stood up, and rushed the being. The being stuck out and hit the after image, then it stuck behind itself and hit another, and another and another all around it. It then looked down at it feet, there was Miria poised to spring and she did, bringing her blade up with her, bisecting the being with a single blow as the two halves fell away from each other. Miria sighed. "Good. It's over."

The remains of the five pieces each began to convulse again, the remains of the four who ran off began to race back towards the center of town as the respective parties followed. The piece flowed into the remains of the muscular being, the being then stood up as a dark, mist-like substance began to swirl around it. All twenty-four warriors watch with confusion and uncertainty as the mist substance began to spin around fasted and faster, until final it dispersed, revealing a heavily cloaked man , who simply raised his hands and began to clap slowly. "**Very good ladies, truly excellent work.**" He said beginning to laugh. "**For your first time, you weren't so bad. A little improvement could be used, but overall, it was fantastic.**"

Many of the warriors were taken back by this sudden change in attitude, Helen spoke up. "What the FUCK?!"

He turned to her with a grunt. "**No need for such language.**"

Miria was the first to step forward. "I think what she means to say is that we weren't expecting… this."

The man looked to her and laughed. "**Hahahahaha! And what were you expecting? For me to honestly try and kill you all? And then proceeded to annihilate this entire city?**" Their continued expressions of confusion gave him their answer. "**Heh. Well that was the point.**" Some of the others' expressions changed from confusion to curiosity. "**If you didn't believe it was real, you might not have put forth your best effort and I would have had a harder time evaluating you effectiveness within groups, your strengths, your weaknesses, etcetera.**"

"And why would you want to know that?" Miria asked.

He looked to her. "**Come now, Miria. You are smart enough to realize why aren't you?**"

Helen looked to Miria now. "What he talking about, Miria?"

"**The reason I put together this little… scenario is for three reasons, the first I have already explained. The second is for experience, both in working in teams and against facing awakened beings as some of you haven't experienced either. Thirdly, it's to know how to best prepare you for what is to come.**" The cloaked man said.

Undine snarled. "We could have died you bastard! Some of us have already sustained injuries from this little so-called 'scenario'!" She said motioning across to several warriors who sustained many bruises and scrapes, the worst of all Yuma who still had a bloody stub where an arm used to reside.

"No." Miria said after a moment's thought with her eyes closed. "We were never in any danger, were we?"

There was a wicked and toothy grin beneath the hood. "**Now you begin to comprehend, don't you?**"

Undine looked to Miria. "Comprehend what? What is he talking about?"

Flora then came to sudden attention as she realized something as well. "I see so that's how it is."

Undine then turned to her. "What are you guys talking about."

Deneve and Clare felt it too, as their bodies began to relax. "It's like that huh?" Deneve remarked.

"**What they are talking about is simple. None of this is real.**" The cloaked figure commented.

"What?!" Helen and Undine shouted simultaneously.

"We're being manipulated right now? Aren't we?" Miria asked. The man simply gave another toothy grin before raising his hand and snapping his fingers once. The scenery appeared to alter itself immediately, all the warriors were standing together in the square, the man was gone but his presence was still felt by them.

"**It's not so hard really, once you get the hang of it, although manipulating so many minds at once is taxing, still the basic things like your sense of sight and hearing and touch are easy enough, but everything you saw you should treat as though it actually happened."** The voice of the cloaked man said echoing around them. "**If you want to know the real beauty of this technique, I've only been using it for a moment, the time in the real world hasn't passed at all since I've been manipulating your senses.**"

"Why don't you com e out and show yourself, then? If you're only here to help?" Helen asked to the sky.

"**In due time, I'm sort of a fan of flashy entrances. In the meantime let me offer some parting advice… high ranking warriors, you can't take the beings on alone, you need to learn to rely on all the warriors under you, not just your own strength. Lower warriors, you must work together if you want to live work as a team and you may yet survive. And to all, beware… the time of battle draws near.**" The voice was then silent, replaced by the howling of the winds of the north.

Undine crossed her arms and huffed. "Psht. Some help that was." She said, before her armor suddenly exploded off of her leaving only her pants and enough cloth on her front to cover her breasts. "What the-"

Helen chuckled. "Guess that's what you get for being lippy." She smirked before her armor did the exact same thing.

Deneve looked to her with a plain expression. "That same to you it appears." She said with the slightest hint of a smirk. Helen just glared before Miria spoke up.

"On the contrary it was, we managed to learn how to fight as a team without there being any danger involved." She said motioning to the previously injured Claymores who were now without a single injury.

Undine crossed her arms. "I don't like this… are we just pawns to you? This kind of formation is unreliable from the start." She scowled as Miria looked to her. "The lower ranks were almost completely useless as I expected, we would have been better off trying to put all the fighters on one unit while all the others who can barely handle a yoma on the other, have them on standby while the real troops take care of business." She then glared deeply. "Depending on your answer I may stop cooperating."

Flora took a step forward. "There weren't any casualties right?"

Undine turned to her. "'Casualties'? What just happened wasn't even real!"

Flora gave a blank expression. "That may be true but we five teams each went up against what could be considered an awakened being, and thus each of us has gained some experience in what a fight would be like against an awakened being." Undine raised a brow at the logic, now waiting for her to continue. "There really is an immense difference between providing support for the real battle group from behind the front lines and personally fighting an awakened being, sword in hand. Furthermore if there are low ranking numbers in a team, the high ranking numbers battle become harsher as well. The burden of responsibility becomes that much greater. So what Miria is trying to achieve with her choice of teams is to make all of us gain routine in fighting awakened beings and to raise the higher numbers' proficiency. In other words, to raise the entire groups' potential. Isn't that right Miria?"

Miria simply looked to Flora with a blank expression while Helen grinned. 'Wow, that's Miria for ya! SH really put a lot of thought into this."

Deneve frowned and furrowed her brows. "Damn, that idiot."

"What is it?" Helen asked.

Deneve continued to frown. "It would have been better to keep letting Miria playing the high-handed leader. Ruining that impression by explaining her true reasoning was unwise."

Helen raised a brow. "And what does that mean?"

Deneve glanced around at the other Claymores. "Well, it seems some have realized it already. Our leader has com e to the conclusion that with our current battle potential, the mission is almost certain to fail."

Undine snarled even more before turning around and beginning to walk off. "Bah! This fight was a pointless one anyways! That there was an overbearing way of handling it didn't change it at all." she turned to one of the Claymores, "Oi! Where's our supply room? , here?! The black suits should have prepared one!" she bellowed.

Pamela pointed. "It's in the warehouse next to the inn over there." Deneve watched the large muscular Claymore stomp off as Clare walked up next to Miria.

"So she noticed." Clare said.

"Yeah. I wonder how many noticed in all." Miria wondered aloud. "In any case, even with that supposed benefactor on our side, it's not like we have a way out. Any way you turn it, this is a last stand. Using the desperate strength of cornered animals to try and cut a way through with brute force. That's the last shred of hope we have." She finished looking to the sky.

* * *

><p>Deneve walked through the city towards the warehouse on the request the she would restock Helen's armor and clothes. She spotted the building and entered, rows of armor lined the walls. <em>"Hmm… more than enough spare equipment."<em>

"Who's there?!" a voice demanded from the next room.

Deneve recognized the voice of her commander. "It's me, commander. I came to pick up some armor as a favor to Helen."

"I'm getting dressed right now! So you better damn stay where you are!" Undine shouted through the door.

Deneve raised a brow. "That's an odd thing to say to a comrade." She noted before looking and noticing two claymores lying nearby, Undine's twin swords. "There's one thing I'd like to ask commander. What's up with this second sword? The emblems are different."

"Shu8t the hell up!" Undine barked. "I picked it up from some sucker who got done in. You got a problem with that?!"

"if a warrior dies, her claymore become her gravestone." There's no way you wouldn't know that." Deneve countered.

"Dead people don't need swords!" Undine argued from the other side of the door. "Plus, this was some low ranked no-name anyways!"

Deneve inspected the sword. "For some 'no-name sucker's' sword, you seem rather fond of it, gripping it in your sword hand."

"Huh? What are you trying to say?" Undine asked.

"Looking at your behavior, it seems like you are only brash and rowdy." Deneve started walking towards the door. "But if one actually thinks it all through, the conclusion could as well be you are doing and saying all of this for your comrades sake' sake."

Undine heard as she approached. "Stay away! Aren't you going to listen to your commanding officer?!"

Deneve opened the door, a small arrogant smirk gracing her lips. "I see. So this is your true form." She said beholding the true lithe form of Undine, looking even less built then most other Claymores as opposed to her more muscular façade.

* * *

><p>The wind howled fiercely as Clare and Flora stood in the driving snow on the outskirts of town. "So what's your business with me out here, Commander Flora?"<p>

Flora turned around, drawing her blade. "I'm terribly sorry about this… but I will have you participate in a contest between the two of us… at full power." Clare gave a blank look but drew her sword as the two charged each other.

* * *

><p><em>10 minutes later…<em>

* * *

><p>Clare and Flora continued the exchange until Clare backed off and broke the engagement. Flora frowned. "Why are you holding back? What I saw back there wasn't something petty like this. Is it that you won't get serious with me as your opponent?"<p>

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but this is my real power." Clare replied. "You have probably already noticed, but this right arm isn't mine."

Flora looked disapprovingly at her. "That is irrelevant. What I want to see is all of the power you have at your disposal right now. Your sword running at high speed and my windcutter, they both work with a split second acceleration of the sword and enable an incredible number of consecutive attacks. They are similar techniques. I want to know which is superior."

Clare sighed. "Pathetic." Flora looked slightly astonished by the insinuation. "To me the strength, rank, superiority, inferiority, of techniques between fellow warriors are such small things, I would even say they're worthless. Killing as many awakened beings as I can, that's all that matters to me."

Flora sighed this time, sheathing her sword but keeping a tight grip on the handle. "You don't understand. One important thing to know in a battle against an awakened being is to accurately know the power of each warrior. That directly affects the organization of the battle and how it unfolds. Whether they want to or not those with power command those below themselves. That is the responsibility that befalls them." Clare was the one speechless this time. "Prepare, I will now preform a windcutter, depending on the outcome I will ask Miria to change the list of commanders."

Clare took a deep breath and tightened her grip on her sword. "Quicksword. That is the name of the technique I will show you right now. I'm sorry. But I cannot control the minute movements of it. I won't take responsibility if I end up killing you."

"I don't mind." Flora replied. "On the contrary, should it be that powerful, that would be delightful. However don't take my windcutter lightly either. What you saw before was only for a finishing blow, don't think it was the extent of my power." She tightened her grip. "This time full power, both of us."

With that they each took a step forward and swung.

* * *

><p>Undine glared up at Deneve with tears in her eyes as Deneve simply stared back. "You bitch…"<p>

Deneve looked at her with a plain expression. "What's wrong? Why are you crying and trembling like that? Are you that terrified by the feeling of your body going over the limit?" Undine widened her eyes. "There is no doubt that the feeling of approaching the limit is terrifying. The desire for power, the craving for blood, and the feeling of lust boiling over through your entire body, an instant in which you feel the black knot of emotions deep within."

"You sound as if you've gone even deeper." Undine shot back.

"This is definitely common knowledge, no need for suspicions." Deneve replied. "Well, in any case, the experience is a heavy burden on weak and cowardly warriors."

Undine scowled. "Huh?! What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Originally, you are a mostly useless frail warrior. You are timid too, but by never leaving the side of a close friend who became a warrior the same time as you. You somehow managed to survive." Deneve inferred. "However someday that close friend loses her life in battle, and ever worse, it was because you are so weak. You who are left behind take up her sword and a resolution: To become stronger than anybody else, so that none of your friends are forced to experience sadness like that again. Through constant yoma release, you gain a muscular form and adopt the title of 'strongest' warrior. To get oyour two swords approved by the organization."

Undine was dumbfounded. "Y-you… how did… how did you…?"

I didn't" she replied. "Presuming the generic outlines I simply deduced the rest. In the world we live in, it's not an especially rare story." Undine grunted. "That aside, let me tell you another story that actually happened." She looked to the ceiling as if trying to recall the memories by closely inspecting the boards of wood. "Once a certain warrior long ago had an older sister, they had the occasional fight but for the most part got along. When the house was attacked by yoma the first thing the sister did was push her under the bed. Because of the smell of their parents corpses on the bed the yoma took no notice of her. Under the bed she just watched as her sister was violated and torn apart. Extinguishing her voice by firmly covering her mouth with her hands." Undine's expression softened greatly as she listened. "In the end she lost her whole family and was carted off to the east to become a warrior. Despite the fact that she desperately wanted to avenge her sister, she became a defensive type, because no matter how much she wanted to avenge her sister, the girl couldn't stop thinking 'I don't want to die.' Falling into despair after realizing this her fighting style became more and more self-destructive until one day an irritating fellow warrior her own age decided to try and become friends with her. Since the other warrior was so annoying she decided to tell her story and reject her bluntly. But the warrior carelessly said the following: 'Of course we want to stay alive at any given time! We are human!' It's not like those two sentences caused a complete turnover for her, but they're probably the reason she's still alive, even now. Well, this has nothing to do with you though, just another mundane little story." Undine simply blinked before raising her hand and looking at the palm. "Anyways don't tear yourself apart all alone here. Remember you have comrades. Us who will support you with things you can't do by yourself. That's what a team is about commander Undine."

* * *

><p>Clare was face down on the ground, a myriad of deep marks in the frozen dirt between her and Flora. Flora heaved before her upper torso exploded in a torrent of blood as she fell to her knees. Clare sat up and the two warriors looked to each other. "In terms of speed you win. In terms of force and precision, I win. The overall power is about on par." Flora concluded, through huffs of exhaustion<p>

"If the power are on par, I believe the one with more precision should be more deserving to stand on top." Clare replied.

Flora smiled a little. "Well, all right. Though I do regret losing the title 'Fastest sword among the warriors' a little. There was one other thing, just for a moment didn't you…" she stopped, the shook her head. "No, never mind. It's trivial in a situation like this." She reached out her hand for Clare who took it as they exchanged smiles. "let's make sure we definitely survive this battle together."

* * *

><p><em>A few miles away from Pieta…<em>

* * *

><p>Eli sat in a cross legged position on a small outcropping of rock above the snow. <em>"Good, trust breeds effective teamwork, I'm glad they're all getting to know each other a little better."<em> He though back to his own days as a warrior. _"I wish we had more of that sort of comradery back then… well, I suppose there's no point in dealing with the 'What ifs'."_ He began to focus his yoki. _"Time to see what the opposition is like…"_ He reached out and far to the north, till he felt the presence of the awakened beings like beacons in the dark, thirty of them mostly spread across the far northern towns but unmistakably making their way towards Pieta. He then felt another one, this yoki was greater than any of the others. _"Rigardo…"_ He felt around some more, confident that none of them could sense him from this distance. _"I've found the army and the lieutenant, but where's the commander?"_ he wondered.

* * *

><p><em>Hours before… Far, far to the North…<em>

* * *

><p>A boy ran through the ruins of a former town, broken windows and torn apart buildings as far as he could see, but not a soul around save himself. He panted as he continued to look around, part out of mild exhaustion and part out of the cold wind and snow baring down on him.<p>

"What is this?" Raki asked looking at the ruin. "What happened to this town? It was normal when I got here. What happened while I was being held in that dungeon?" Raki noticed a dark haired girl a distance away, she was walking slowly as a piece of the ruined architecture above her began to give way. "Watch it!" he shouted running and diving for her, pushing her out of the way as the debris fell. "That was a close one." He said, he then looked down to see his hand was on her breast, he took it off quickly, blushing. "I'm sorry for suddenly jumping you." He apologized. "Are you hurt? Any wounds?" he asked.

She turned around to face him, saying nothing. She was a skinny, pre-adolescent girl with short brown hair and brown eyes. She paused for a moment, looking into his face, she then wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in close. Raki blushed deeper at the sudden intimacy. "Wa-wait a moment!" he protested.

"Ooooooi!" a deep yet soothing voice called out in the distance. Raki looked up as a man approached. He had a youthful, pretty boy appearance with long, silver hair.

The man raised a brow as he saw the girl holding tightly to Raki. "Ohhh, so that's where you were. What happened."

"This kid smells nice." The girl stated. Raki blushed even deeper than before.

The man looked surprised but then smiled. "Heh. It's rare for you to have an interest in someone. Is he from the same region as you?"

Raki stuttered still blushing red as a tomato. "I-I lived far south form here, until I was abducted and brought here." He stammered.

The man nodded. "I see… from the south you say? It must be the warm scent of the south that's attracting her to you." He looked off into the distance for a moment. "Yeah… I really want to take her south already…"

"Erm." Raki started as the man returned his attention to Raki. "Do you know what happened to this town? Could it be that it was destroyed by some strange monsters?"

The man looked like he was about to say something but then closed his mouth for a moment, as if changing his mind. "You can relax. They don't seem to be in the area anymore." The wind picked up. "But it's really cold out here. Let's return quickly, you can come along!" he said cheerfully. Raki looked to him questioningly. "Normally she doesn't get attached to people easily. So keep her company for a while!" he said with a gleaming smile. He outstretched his hand to them both. "Well then let's go… Priscilla." He said.

* * *

><p><em>The next morning…<em>

* * *

><p>Raki awoke to the sight of Pricilla's clothed breasts in his face. "What… is this?" he asked himself getting out of bed without disturbing her. "When did she… I went to bed alone last night!" he said astonished he hadn't felt her earlier.<p>

Raki heard the sound of whooshing in the next room. He saw the silver haired man was swinging around Raki's sword with great elegance and grace, fast and strong and agile. The form of which the sword was handled reminded him of how Eli had handled his blade. The man took notice of Raki and stopped, greeting him. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?" he asked.

Raki looked to the sword. "Th-that's…" Raki began

The man looked to the sword. "Oh this? I found it lying around in the town I found you in. I thought it such a good sword that I just couldn't leave it behind."

"It's from Rabona." Raki explained. "The blessed holy city to the south."

The man gave an inquisitive look. "It is yours? I was already thinking it's, not the kind of sword I have ever seen around here before." He handed the sword to Raki. "It's a good sword, treat it well."

Raki was apprehensive. "Could it be that you were a famous swordsman in the past?" he asked. "I mean the flow of your blade is beautiful, so few unnecessary movements. It looks very polished."

The man chuckled mirthlessly. "A long time ago I gave it a try. But I gave up soon."

Raki frowned. "Really? Seems like such a waste, you move so well." He tightened the grip on his sword. "W-would you please teach me how to use a sword? I… I want to become strong."

The man looked questioningly to the boy. "What for?"

Raki blushed madly looking to the ground. "There's a certain person I want to protect… no I just want to be by her side." He looked into the man's face with determination. "That is why I wasn't enough power to not have to worry about me anymore, and if possible enough power to save that person."

The man looked to the boy for a moment then turned around and grabbed one of a pair of swords hanging decoratively above the fireplace. He then turned back around, sword in hand. "Becoming strong isn't easy. Once you have power you can lose it again as well. And above all else, you may even need to sacrifice your own life for that power." The man swung the sword, stopping just short of Raki's head. Raki didn't flinch. "Do you have that kind of resolve?"

Raki's face was stern. "Yes. I do."

The man smiled. "Alright then. I will teach you everything I can."

Raki bowed before him. "Thank you very much!"

The man chuckled. "I like that look in your eyes. Maybe you really can become strong."

Raki smiled before his stomach made a loud grumbling and he blushed, again embarrassed. The man chuckled again. "Come to think of it you haven't had anything to eat since you got her have you?"

"N-no." Raki answered tentatively.

The man's face suddenly became stern as he whirled around facing the south. Raki raised a brow at the sudden action but said nothing as the man turned back around, smiling again. "Sorry, but there's something I have to attend to. Help yourself to whatever food you can find in the house, there' plenty."

Raki returned the smile. "Thank you very much."

The man then looked as though he just remember something. "That's right I didn't get your name."

"I'm Raki." He replied. "I form the plain around Doga to the south."

"I'm Isley. Isley from Alphonse." The man said introducing himself.

"Isley… from Alphonse." Raki repeated slowly trying to commit it to memory.

"And she is Priscilla." Isley said pointing over Raki's shoulder, he turned to look to see the sleeping form of Pricilla wrapped around his neck. He fell over in surprise.

"what the-? She still sleeping? How?' Raki questioned looking to her.

Isley shrugged. "Somehow she really likes you. Get along well!" Isley said turning to leave. "Well then enjoy yourselves." He said as he closed the door behind him.

Raki sighed as he set Pricilla back in the bed, he then examined the room. _"A beautiful room and plenty of food. I wouldn't call it decadent, but it sure is over abundance."_ He thought admiring the house. _"I wonder what he does for a living,,, that guy…"_ He remembered how he had awoken to Pricilla's breasts and remembered how he had hugged Clare in much the same way.

Pricilla stirred in her sleep slightly and whispered faintly. "Watching… far away… familiar…" she said in her sleep, but so softly Raki didn't notice.

* * *

><p>Isley entwined his fingers as his lieutenant stood in front of him to report. "So those three didn't come back?"<p>

Rigardo nodded, a dark haired man whose bangs hung in his eyes. "I told you those three weren't suited for reconnaissance. IO knew they would go and rampage right off the bat. If you had let me go instead…"

Isley waved a hand. "No, that's alright. Whether they returned or not didn't matter to me anyways. We know now that a force has gathered in Pieta that is enough to take out those three." Rigardo raised a brow as Isley continued. "I figured right away, that there were none who would follow the order to simply do reconnaissance and back, so I chose the weakest three whose loss wouldn't really affect us anyways. Another thing, 'If you had just let me do it'? That's not something I want to hear from the one who goes into the worst blood frenzies when he gets started, isn't that right silver eyed lion king?"

Rigardo grimaced. "Could you please not call me that? If possible."

"Sorry, I'm digressing into the past." Isley replied. "In any case they have a large force so I say we respond in kind. This is a good time. Gather all who are just messing around here and there at the moment!" Isley looked directly at Rigardo. "Take all twenty-seven with you. Annihilate Pieta." His gaze softened. "Basically, a place where no lifeform exists whatsoever, that's what I want Pieta to become. Don't leave a single rat or bug alive. So that people won't even be able to call it 'Pieta' anymore." Rigardo nodded turning to leave. "One other thing, I felt something earlier…"

"You… felt something?" Rigardo asked.

"Yes, as if someone trying to find me from so far away." Isley.

"What could that mean?" Rigardo asked.

"It means someone other than the Organization and myself have a hand in this. And this third hand feels like…" Isley paused.

Rigardo raised a brow. "Feels like what?"

Isley paused then waved his hand. "Nothing. Forget I spoke of it. It was probably just my mind playing tricks on me." Rigardo nodded then left the room, shutting the door behind him. Isley turned to the window, the sight of falling snow meeting his eyes. _"Could you really still be around… Elijah?"_

Eli opened his eyes with a start. Heaving breaths in the snow as sweat beaded down his forehead. _"Damn it,,, that was way too close… Isley is still far away… but that other yoki…" _Shivers went up and down his spine, Eli raised his fist once and pounded the ground _"Damn you Isley... what the Hell do you think you're doing?!"_

* * *

><p><em>Back in Pieta…<em>

* * *

><p>All the Claymores had gathered, all of them standing in the same room, Miria at the head sitting in a chair in front of a table. On the table was a yoki suppressant pill, Miria used her claymore and divided the pill into halves. "All of you will take one of these before battle." She said holding up one half.<p>

"Half a yoki suppressant pill?" one of the warriors, Karla asked.

"If you take just half, neither will your yoki be suppressed nor will you lose the ability to sense yoki. You'll be able to fight same as usual." Miria explained. "But lose consciousness the instant the flow of yoki stops, the effects of the pill kick in."

Some of the Claymores gave confused looks as Flora spoke up. "In other words, we'll be able to play dead."

"Tomorrow's battle isn't a battle to win. It's a battle to survive." Miria explained. "But even if we just abandon this mission and run away, we'll become targets for the Organization's purge. That is why I want a reality in which all of us were 'killed in action'." She paused for a moment before going on. "I think you understand as much as I do. The chances of survival are incredibly low. In fact you could call it saving a few by sacrificing many." Miria grimaced deeply. "I'm sorry. But no matter how hard I think this is the only way to survive I can come up with. I know it's inexcusable but…"

"That's great!" came the booming voice of Undine, earning the stares of the audience. "In a suicide mission even having a shred of hope is pretty damn good already! And this plan is fair, strong ones and weak ones both have a chance to survive. Even everyone surviving is unlikely but not impossible."

"That is the spirit!" a voice boomed from the entrance way. "Even if the chance is one percent I say fight for that!"

The crowd turned to the doorway to see a goggled, silvery haired man standing in the entrance way, grinning like an idiot. "It also occurs to me while you may not think you have good odds of survival, I think I can lend a hand in that regard."

Clare recognized him immediately. _"Eli…"_

Miria stood up from her chair. "Is that so? And why would you do that?"

"Let's just say I have a vested interest in your survival." He replied. "After all, **it's not like this is our first meeting."** He said altering his voice, the audience recognizing it as the same one from before.

Undine was the first to speak. "Ha! Big talk messing with our heads wasn't exactly a show of power! I bet without your little mind games you'd be easy to beat!" she boasted.

"Is that so?" He asked, beginning to release his yoki.

The faces of many of the Claymores fell as they began to feel the massive power. "It's like a greater awakened being's aura…" Jean whispered.

Miria's face remained unaltered. "I see you have great strength.'

"Of course. It was I who defeated the scouts on the outskirts of town, most likely saving the lives of both you and many townspeople." He said matter-o-factly. Miria was silent. "Please I needn't thanks, it only cost me an arm and a leg, and in this case that's not just an idiom. But enough about that I need you to follow me outside for a moment."

The crowd turned their attention to Miria who said nothing but followed Eli outside where he stood, sword in hand. "That's a pretty big sword, even larger than normal claymores." Undine stated looking at the blade.

"Way to state the obvious there muscles, what's next you going to point out how it's sharp and pointy?" He asked with a sneer.

"What the Hell did you just say to me?!" Undine growled grabbing her blades. Miria put up a hand and Undine stopped, relaxing a bit but still glaring at Eli.

"Why have you called us out here?" Miria asked.

"I need a proper assessment of your skills." Eli stated. "Fight me, you can even come at me all at once if you prefer, though I'd probably get a better reading from a one on one."

"And you couldn't do that before when you were manipulating our senses?" Miria asked.

"Doing that any further would be pointless. When it comes to manipulating an opponent's senses it's like a mental and yoki tug-of-war, if I win said war your sense are mine if I lose, you resist and shrug off the manipulation. Trying to simultaneously manipulate twenty-four different yokis is neither cheap nor easy. Besides I only did that to give you experience in dealing with awakened beings and acting in your little groups." Eli explained. "Now I need to be sure what it is you're thinking when you hold your blade."

"What we're… thinking?" Helen asked.

"Exactly, I'll give you a demonstration." He pointed to Undine. "Undine right? Fight with me."

Undine looked to Miria who nodded, Undine gave a wicked grin and drew her blades stepping into the middle of the square with Eli. "You're going to regret this." Eli only smiled. Undine rushed at Eli with quick blows, Eli paired them with skills as she and he continued to exchange blows. Just as she prepared to lash out again, Eli held up a hand and she withheld her blow, grinning. "Had enough?"

Eli looked to her and smiled. "Yes. I've assessed what I've needed. Strong blows mixed in with quick light blows. Partly balanced, partly not. Quick to anger, arrogant, brutish, yet a… softness about you." He assessed. "And fear in your strikes."

"Fear?" Undine asked. "I'm not scared of anything!" she boasted, but Eli turned around already, now pointing to Flora, who stepped forward.

"So Flora, they say you are the fastest blade of the warriors." Eli said, addressing his new opponent.

"Perhaps." She replied glancing to Clare for a moment.

"Then show me this 'Windcuttrer' technique. I'm very interested to see it." Eli said.

"Yes. I think with you I can show off some of my power." She said stepping towards him.

They both walked towards each other slowly, then passed now standing where the other stood, still facing the directions they were walking in. Eli smiled a small incision appearing on his cheek, Flora winced a little as her face produced three distinct cuts, slightly bloodying her face. "Focused, precision striking, sacrificing power and speed for accuracy. Disciplined, kind, soft-spoken, obedient, prone to lectures, talks down to people… and also fearful."

Flora raised a brow at the assessment but none said nothing as Eli then motioned towards Jean, who complied, stepping forward. "So I hear you have the greatest thrust of the warriors, Jean." Eli stated.

Jean nodded. "That is what they say. I suppose you'd like me to demonstrate?"

"if you'd be so kind." Eli said.

Jean did as she was told and began to twist her arm in preparation for the technique. "I should warn you, this is a pretty devastating technique."

"If you manage to slay me, you'll have no trouble surviving. Now give it your best shot." Eli replied.

Jean nodded, pointing her sword at him and began to untwist her arm, faster and faster, until it became a rapidly spinning drill. She charged at him with the technique, Eli raised his sword, drew it back, and with a single thrust, hit the tip of his sword against the tip of hers, stopping the technique from moving any further forward, but still rotating, making a loud screech in protest. Miria, along with every other warrior, widened their eyes at this. _"Impossible! He stopped her drill sword with another thrust! And he did so by hitting the tip of the spinning blade with the tip of his own! And he's still maintaining it!"_

The sword eventually slowed down and Eli withdrew his thrust, smiling at the bewildered Claymore. "Good technique, creative, effective against enemies with thick hides, halt the tip however and the technique is rendered useless. Disciplined, loyal, self-sacrificing, arrogant, prideful, and fearful."

Jean like Flora before her raised a brow. _"Three of us? Fearful?"_

Eli then turned his attention to Miria. "Now if you'd be so kind…"he said to her.

Miria stepped forward and the warriors played close attention now, their strongest present warrior versus this mysterious man. "You're stronger than Undine, faster with the blade than Flora, have a mightier thrust than Jean, just who are you?"

"Someone who's had many years to practice." He replied. He and Miria raised their swords in unison, the Eli charged Miria slashing at her, only for his blade to slice clean through her and her image to disappear. "An after-image." She appeared behind him and slashed, only for her blade to do the exact same thing. The continued slashing through each other's images for about five minutes. Miria stopped panting at her exertion of using her signature technique so many times, Eli was breathing heavy but not with nearly as much force as Miria. "Hmm. A defensive technique. Raise your speed in an instant to not only dodge but create a split second opening between the time you do it and the time they realize its isn't you. Very cleaver, it's sneaky, underhanded, I like it. Excellent leadership skills, skilled tactician, tolerant, respectful, cautious to the point of hesitant, suspicious, slight paranoia, pessimistic… and fearful, how unfortunate."

"How dare you!" Helen barked. Eli turned his gaze to her. "Miria is the bravest warrior I know! She has done everything in her power to save us! How dare you try and insult her! I should kill you where you stand! Show you what real fear is!" she bellowed, drawing her blade. Some of the other Claymores drew their swords in agreement while others where slightly hesitant to try and take on the power man before them.

Eli sighed. 'You don't understand." He said drawing his blade up holding it parallel to his body. "Much can be learned from combat, feelings especially. You know what their blades tell me? When they try can strike me they say 'I'm afraid to cut' when they protect someone else they say 'I'm afraid of letting them die' and when they try and parry my strikes they say 'I'm afraid of dying'. You leaders' blades speak to me only of mindless irrational fear." He turned to Undine and Jean. "Fear of letting others die." He turned to Flora. "Fear of being weak." He looked around to the other Claymores. "Fear of dying. And the worst of all…" he said turning back to Miria. "Fear of failure. Each and every one of you has fear in some form, it's understandable, given the circumstances, yet at the same time utterly pitiful." He gave a disgusted look. "Fear so bad I can feel it around me, permeating the air like a noxious gas."

"That's simple then, we stop being afraid. Fear is a choice." Flora said, maintaining her composure.

"No it's not." Eli replied. "Fear isn't a switch you can just turn on and off in your brain. It comes from the most basic instincts of living beings to survive. Bravery, courage, valor, these are the choices that can be made." He looked to each of the warriors. "You need to trust in your comrades and in yourselves, and take resolve in your blades." He swung his sword to one side. "When you block 'I will not be killed!'" he swung his sword to his other side. "When you protect someone, 'I will not let them die!'" Eli then swung his sword straight up. "And when you strike…" he swung it down, causing a crash as he created a large scar in the pavement. "'They die!'" he turned back to Miria. "That's what it means to have resolve in your blade. You each need to behave in your teams as if limbs apart of a greater body, and I can help with that."

Miria spoke. "That's… I don't even know what to say except, yes you're right… I am afraid, but I can find the resolve in my blade." She turned to her subordinates. "Just as I believe in each of you can do the same!" she said raising her sword as the other warriors followed suite.

"Let's hope your faith isn't misplaced." Eli said with a small smile.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa." Helen interjected. "What? Are we serious? We're just gonna let this guy join us?"

"We can't exactly look a gift horse in the mouth." Flora replied. "Besides, if you're worrying about him betraying us, don't be. He's already taken out three awakened beings. If he wanted to kill us it's probably within his ability to do so. The fact that he hasn't means that his help is valid."

"Besides." Eli said looking to Helen. "Would it really be wise for me to try and take on all of you at once? Perhaps I am the strongest one here, but if you attacked me all at once… I would definitely be at a disadvantage."

Helen crossed her arms. "I still want some sort of proof of you willing to help, insurance against future betrayal. Do you have anyone who will vouch for you?"

Eli smiled a bit wider, showing teeth. "Yes I do. You." He said waving his hand.

"What are-" a sharp pain ran through Helen's head she dropped her blade and cradled her head.

Deneve quickly tried to aid her, she then turned on Eli drawing her sword. "What have you-" she stopped as Eli held up a hand, pointing to Helen who now started to relax as the pain quickly receded.

She stood up, now looking to Eli in a different matter. "You…"

Eli continued to smirk. "Yes me. You remember now don't you?"

Deneve then recognized Eli as well. "Yes, I remember from back in Paburo."

Miria, recognized him as the man from Paburo. _"That's right… Helen was remembering something when her head started to hurt and she forgot. Was that him? Did he just undo whatever that was back then?"_

Helen then spoke louder. "I met this man some time ago. He was in a back water village where I was hunting yoma. He pointed out the man and then disappeared. Hours later the village swarmed with yoma, no survivors best I could tell, and if there were any, they'd been long gone. I… I went past my limit there. I was awakening, and then I fought an awakened being and then…"

"Then I stepped in, killed the being, reversed the awakening process before it was complete and left you to pick up the pieces." Eli finished. "Essentially you owe me your life."

Helen was silent, looking at the ground now. Miria started up. "So why was she not able to recognize her savior back in Paburo?"

"The mind isn't actually all that complicated, it is delicate though." Eli explained. "Think of the mind like a well, surface thoughts on top, like what you're planning to do in the next few minutes or what do you want to eat later that day, simple everyday thoughts that lie on the surface of the mind. Deeper in there lies the subconscious, memories and secrets. When her mind recognized me I simply added 'weight' to the memory so she wasn't able to bring it to the surface of her mind where she could 'see' it. I plunged it to the depths of her subconscious where it had stayed till I now undid the 'weights' and it rose from the murky depths of her mind."

"I see." Miria replied. "So then, you saved her life, I suppose the word of Helen that you saved her life is worth something." She said looking to Helen who simply adverted her gaze with a mixture of embarrassment and gratitude.

"Indeed." Eli said now looking to all the warriors. "You have all been sent here to die. I'm sure you've realized that by now. Whether it be because you're too rebellious, too dangerous, or simply too unpredictable, you all have been sent like lambs to the slaughter, and I can help you to survive."

Clare now stepped forward. "I, too, can vouch for this man." Many Claymores raised brows at this sudden input from the lowest ranked warrior. "I, like you, have seen his strength first hand. He can be a great asset to us, and if we are to survive this battle we need all the help we can get."

Miria put a hand on Clare's shoulder. "Well spoken Clare." She turned to the audience. "I trust in Clare's belief in this man and in Helen's story of him, what say you?" she said raising her sword. The others did the same in a sign of agreement. Miria turned back to Eli. "You have our trust for now? So how will you help us? I would need to rearrange the teams, or you could go by yourself after these beings, acting as your own squad."

"I'm afraid either of those would be ineffective, being the strongest one, I need to be able to help you all out at once so all of your chance to survive are significantly increased." Eli replied.

"And how do you plan to do that?" Miria asked.

"Like this." Eli said reaching out with his yoki and matching it to Miria's. _"You can hear me now right?"_

Miria took a step back. "What is it?" Undine asked. "What did he pull this time?"

"I projected my thoughts into her by concentrating my yoki and syncing with her's. Through this technique not only can I speak to you, but I can see what you see and hear what you hear. With this I can act as a yoki relay and issue orders or advice from far away, and no team will be completely without the ability to communicate." Eli explained. "It's a difficult technique though, and while you're synching with me you drain a little bit of my yoki, and with twenty-four people… it'd be difficult, but this is the way in which I would be most effective in helping."

"But how does this help?" Undine asked.

"The main problem with your teamwork from before was that you didn't know each other's strengths and weaknesses. You need to be able to know what the other members of your team are doing at all times, like working the limbs of your own body. By doing this your efficiency as a team will grow exponentially." Eli explained. "Synching with twenty-four people's different yoki wavelengths is a bit hard though, despite the fact I'm great at manipulation and my yoki is pretty malleable. So I need the leaders to act as secondary relays between their subordinates and myself, so I can better control the technique."

"In that way, not only will you be able to have eyes everywhere, but can also issue warnings, commands and at the same time act as a high speed communicator." Mira finished.

Undine crossed her arms and made a face. "I don't really get it. Why can't he just do that and fight at the same time?"

"A technique of that caliber would require great concentration and effort on the one using it. Trying to do that and fight at the same time? Very doubtful. In fact I doubt he can even move while this technique is in effect, am I right?" Flora asked.

"That is… correct." Eli replied. "I'll need to be in a building nearby, probably in the middle of town where I'll have the maximum range to use this technique." He looked towards the horizon. "I sense them approaching, they will be here in force within a few hours in the meantime we should evacuate the city and prepare the best we can, probably best if we try this technique a few times, make sure I can effectively use it."

Miria nodded. "He's right, the citizens need to be evacuated. Everyone get to it! When you're done report back here! The fight is almost upon us!" with that the Claymores scattered, many giving Eli passing glances as they went their separate ways.

Eli motioned towards Clare to follow him she complied as they found themselves in an alley.

"Alright Clare first I need-" he was interrupted as a fist came and hit his cheek. He touched it and looked back to Clare who was on the verge of tears.

"Y-you, you lost Raki!" she said, trying the best to contain herself.

"I know. I'm sorry." He replied to which she only punched him again. He didn't turn his face back as she continued to speak.

"He's been sold to the slave traders in the North!" Clare said.

"So you've heard." Eli replied mulling over his words. "I promise you Clare, we will find him and he will still be alive."

"How do you know?" she asked.

"What does your heart say?" he asked.

She was silent but fell forward into his arms as Eli wrapped them around her in a meaningful embrace, stroking her hair and trying to sooth the heartbroken warrior. "He's alive, I know it." She said giving a muffled reply.

Eli smiled, his eyes also beginning to well with a few tears. "I believe your heart is right. Raki is a survivor. We'll find our way to him. I promise."

* * *

><p><em>Hours later…<em>

* * *

><p>Pieta was empty. Hollow except for the twenty-four warriors and the one ex-warrior, who sat in a nearby church nearby the town square, his mind concentrating deeply as he prepared the technique. The wind blew fiercely as if anticipation of what was to come.<p>

"Was everyone evacuated?" she asked the nearby warrior, Tabitha.

"All of them have been transported to a city south of here." She replied.

"How's the morale?" Miria asked.

"We're all ready to follow you to wherever to may lead us Miria." Tabitha replied

"I see." Mir a said, closing her eyes for a moment, taking a breath then opening them. She sensed as they approached. _"Just as I thought, completely different from what Eli took on before, how many of us can survive?"_ "Well then, it is time."

Miria nodded to Undine who nodded back, taking her two swords and clanging them in the air.

Eli heard the signal and began the technique. He reached out with his yoki and connected with Miria, Flora, Jean, Undine, and Veronica. _"Connection established, everyone hear me?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Of course."_

"_I do."_

"_What do you expect?"_

"_I can."_

"_Good, now I will guide your yoki's to synch with your team's members."_ Eli concentrated harder linking the five yokis each to four others, save Miria's who had three. _"There. Everyone is linked. I'm not sure how long I'll be able to keep up this technique, so we'd better make it count."_

Miria realized something just then. _"I just remembered, we never got your name."_

"_It's Eli."_

"_Eli? That wouldn't happen to be short for Elijah would it? As in 'Elijah of the Empty-Heart', once the number one of the Organization, as well as one of the last male warriors, now would it?"_

"_We can discuss ancient history some other time. For now, I'd be more worried about the current problem in front of you."_

"_Here they come."_

* * *

><p><em>Far to the North…<em>

* * *

><p>Islay took notice of something from the south, Raki and Pricilla accompanying him, all on horseback, atop a ridge.<p>

Raki noticed Isley's sudden interest in that direction. "What is it?"

"In a far-away place, lives, like candles, are burning brightly against the harsh wind. They are soon to be blown out. I'm thinking of how lovely that is…"

Raki made a face. "Eh?"

Isley closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them. "Let's go, by the time we arrive, it'll be all over."

* * *

><p><em>Back in Pieta…<em>

* * *

><p>The warriors fought ferociously against the beings, acting in formation and picking up each other's slack in the face of the great adversity.<p>

Emelia and Eliza jumped out of the way of an attacked by an armored awakened being acting as distraction as Jean got in close and used her drill sword to take the being.

An armadillo being chased Flora's team across the rooftops before stopping, as Clare and Flora appeared ran their lightning fast blades across the being, decimating its body as it cursed them.

A young man appeared among the carnage, observing the battle, his long dark bangs falling in front of his eyes. "We have lost three, they haven't lost any yet, how peculiar. In fact I'd say it's nothing short of a miracle." He scanned the area. "One…two, three…four, five. Five strong warriors, and something else… they're guiding their warriors through yoki synch, how innovative, and also drawing our forces in one by one to crush them individually… how cunning. Impressive, that they are trying to somehow cut a path to survival in this completely hopeless situation." He closed his eyes for a moment. "Sorry, but I can't let any more of our forces being taken out." His eyes began to glow bright silver and his body began to morph, growing large claws and fangs, now resembling a three meter tall silver-gray humanoid lion.

The warriors and Eli took notice. Eli gritted his teeth as the strain on the technique caused the veins to pop out on his body._ "Shit! It's Rigardo!"_

Miria's face dropped in horror as she sensed the presence. "The silver eyed lion king? Rigardo? Why is he here?"

Rigardo tensed his muscles as Eli sensed the increase in yoki. _"Shit! Get away! He's going after the leaders!"_

Veronica barely got the message when Rigardo appeared before her. "Wha-?"

"**One."** The being said before bifurcating the warrior, her top torso flying through the air and landing nearby as her bottom half fell backwards.

The Claymores watched in horror, Cynthia gripped her blade tightly, attempting to cut the being before it disappeared again. Eli struggled as he felt Veronica's life slip away from him, without her Cynthia, Helen, Pamela, and Matilda were also cut off from him now. _"Shit! I got no time to reestablish the connection! Undine! Watch out he's after you next!"_

Rigardo appeared behind Undine right as she got the message, barley having time to turn around before he relieved her of her arms and then with a quick slash across the chest put down the muscular warrior for good. "God… damn… it…" she whispered falling to the ground.

Deneve watched in horror as her leader fell, and also felt the assisting presence of Eli begin to leave her. "Undine!" she screamed.

Eli's teeth tightened even more his vein's popping profusely and his gold eyes practically popping out of their sockets with the strain. _"Damn it! Undine's down! I can't sense her team anymore! Jean watch out he's after you now!"_

The lion king appeared just as told as Jean prepared for him, holding up her blade. "Jean!" Clare called out.

"Protect Flora!" Jean ordered. As she desperately tried to block the being's faster than lightning blows. "He's going in order! Next is…" she was cut off as Rigardo punctured her through her stomach.

Clare's anger hit a fevered pitch. Her yoki began to release in doves. "You **BASTARD!"** she bellowed charging the lion king only to knock her away and quickly deal a killing blow to Flora., using his claw to cut her right down the middle head to toe. Rigardo then let out a mighty roar, the great sound reverberating along the buildings and causing warriors to drop- their blades in fear. He then spotted his next target, Miria, he moved to attack her only to be blocked by Helen and Deneve, Clare following up as she tried to strike him from behind. He dodged easily looking at the three as they guarded their leader.

"**Move aside." **he growled.** "I haven't an interest in weaklings."**

Clare growled back. "You bastard! I'll **kill you!"**

He snorted. **"Big words, for a weakling." **he skirted past the three coming close to Miria. **"I'm sorry, but you must die."** He said before dodging out of the way as Helen's arm came down where his head had just been. Deneve and Clare began to engage him.

Miria called out to them. "Clare! Deneve! Helen!"

"Stay back!" Helen ordered. "His target is you.!"

_They're right Miria! If I lose you this technique will fail completely, I can't concentrate on reestablishing some of the connections at the same time trying to keep you alive."_

Helen nodded in agreement. "He's right Miria! You're the last leader! If you die the technique will fail before he can continue to reconnect to the rest! Haven't you been able to sense it? The other team's members have been dropping like flies! We can't let you die!"

Rigardo slashed Deneve's and Clare's shoulders as the warriors fell to the ground along with the lion king. He pointed his claws at them and Clare screamed a warning. "Evade! **Deneve!"**

Deneve didn't know what happened as parts of her body exploded in large cuts. Clare appeared with a hole in the ground beside her as Rigardo raise a brow, then Clare knocked a a blow away as he retracted his claws. **"Good perception, most of them died without realizing what they were cut or pierced by."** Clare gritted her teeth, releasing more power as the lion king aimed again. **"This one doesn't learn. Rushing recklessly is futile." **He sensed an incoming blow an jumped high into the air as Miria swung her blade.

Miria cursed as she missed and Clare called out to her leader. Rigardo looked to the warrior. **"So the leader make her debut?" ** he said piercing her only for her to fade away. **"What?"** Miria appeared behind him. **"I see. Fitting movement for a commander."** He said as Miria slashed at him only for his image too to fade away. **"A match for me. But only in speed."**

Helen rushed to an injured Deneve's side. "Deneve! "

"What a sad performance in the end I couldn't even land as single attack." She uttered with weakness.

"Pull yourself together! It's not over yet!" Helen barked. "Don't just give up like that!"

"Don't bother with me… help Miria and Clare…" she whispered. "They are essential to this battle, their life or death will determine the outcome."

Helen nodded. "Ok! You just stay here and heal wounds, Clear?!" she shouted. _"Eli! Make sure to lend her some of your power!"_

"_I'm already on it." _ Eli replied. Helen nodded as she returned to the battle.

Deneve held up her hand looking at the blood. "Shit… what a mess. Number fifteen? Don't make me laugh! 'Don't tear yourself all apart alone'? 'Remember you have comrades'? What a load of crap!" she said tears streaming down her face. "Never mind about protecting Undine… I can't even land a single blow on that bastard to avenge her!" she wailed clenching her fist. Eli heard the lament but said nothing as his mind became silent.

Miria and Rigardo continued to exchange blows as Clare tried to catch up. _"That man can easily keep up with the mirages. No, more like Miria's only able to keep up with him by using those mirages. Slow… why is my body so slow?"_

Rigardo landed a glancing blow as the two continued their engagement. **"What wrong**?" he asked appearing behind her.** "Your speed is dropping are we approaching your limit?" **Miria landed as Rigardo then attempted to land a killing blow, only for her to fade again. **"Oh? So you can still do it?"** he asked. **"Well… that's what I would like to say." **he said his claws dripping with blood as Miria's shoulders exploded with blood, dropping to her knees. **"Dodging my attacks completely is no longer possible for you, too bad. This is the end."** Helen and Clare appeared behind him as Rigardo frowned. **"Small fry get in the way/ You're running my entertainment."** He said putting his hands to each of them and repulsing them away with great force. Miria appeared behind him. **"If you thought you caught me off guard. You're mistaken."** He said as his claws extended and bent behind him, piercing Miria in several places. He held her there for a moment. **"Not a mirage this time I see." ** He retracted his claws and began to turn as Miria fell, raising his hand. **"I will cut off your head and it will be over."**

Clare continued to release yoki as she tried to fly toward him, but time seemed to slow as she approached him and he began to swing his arm. _"Damn… again… Why is my body so slow? If only I was faster… I could have saved Jean and Flora… If only I was much faster… faster… faster… faster… faster… If I was only __**faster…"**_

Rigardo's blow never came. He looked down to see a stump where his arm used to be.** "What is this?"**

Helen called out to Clare as she looked to the warrior, now much different. **"I can't believe it."** Rigardo said looking at his stump again**. "Running between me and her and cutting off my arm, all in a split second, and at a speed that made even me lose sight of her for a second."** He looked to the warrior who's legs had become larger, metallic, and hock-jointed.

"What is that?" Helen asked with disbelief.

"**Only awakening her legs? Impressive."** Clare bent her legs and was gone, Rigardo acted immediately, jumping into the air, a small chunk of his leg disappearing as a building in the opposite direction exploded, as if something crashed into it. He pointed his claws at Miria. **"This is a pain… I might as well kill the injured one first." **but he couldn't react as Clare appeared beside him, blade in hand, and he put up his own just in time to block the blow. He and Clare began to engage as Rigardo gritted his teeth. **"Having only one arm is pretty inconvenient."** He knock Clare away, trying to get his arm before it was impaled by a blade, then disappearing, Helen reappearing some distance away, Miria in one hand and her sword hand impaling the arm.

She smirked. "You used to be offensive type right? That mean you can't regenerate instantly."

Rigardo growled before Clare came again, swinging it in an attempt to kill him. He dodged, appearing behind her. **"Don't get cocky because you managed to get one arm."** He was about to counted before Clare disappeared again some distance away, cracking the concrete in her wake. She charged at insane speeds. **"I see. You can't even keep up with yourself with all this acceleration can you?" **he said stepping to the side as another building exploded. **'Once you start moving minor adjustments become impossible, If I just step to the side you can't adjust, you can't even brake. And for an unnatural awakening there will be a great price to pay for that." **

Clare breathed heavy as the damage of self-inflicted wounds began to show. _"Clare you have to stop!" _a voice sounded in her head. _"If you don't you'll soon…"_she interrupted him with a loud roar, her sudden burst in yoki forcing the connection to break as Eli felt a huge pain through his head in recoil.

She and Rigardo continued to fight, Rigardo side stepping Clare's insane speeds and Clare trying to break herself with her sword and hands as she and he competed for an edge. **'When attacking as well as dodging the movements are too big on anything you do, you can't follow up. And it looks like it consumes much stamina on your part as well. For this battle that's too unwieldy, after all it's only a makeshift awakening."**

"**Still not enough…"** breathed Clare before a blade interrupted the fight, Helen's stretching arm begging to recoil as her sneak attack failed.

Rigardo snarled. **"You're in my way trying to attack from a distance."** He charged her. Clare appeared between them with a slash but kept moving past as the lion king sneered. **"Couldn't save them this time."** He said begging to strike before noticing Clare was right beside him. **"What?" ** she slashed at him only for him to dodge, jumping into the air as she followed. **"How? Did she bring her insane speed under control?"**

Clare snarled. **"Not enough… more… MORE…" **she and Rigardo continued to circle one another at high speeds, Clare now managing to stop herself by planting her feet deep into the ground with each step. Clare's arm then awakened, becoming a large claw with blades, Rigardo snarled at the new transformation. Clare continued after him now with Blade and Claws into the air as Rigardo barely deflected the blows. **"NOT ENOUGH… STILL NOT ENOUGH… MORE… MORE… MORE POWER!"**

"Stop it!" Helen bellowed. "Don't go any further!"

Clare snarled. **"KILLING JEAN… KILLING FLORA… HOW DARE YOU!" **she bellowed, her right arm now also begging to morph.

Rigardo watched with fascination at the young warrior's transformation. **"You realized the one way to defeat me. An awakening of all four limbs."** He beheld as he right arm grew blades, still holding the claymore. Rigardo smiled. **"Magnificent." **Clare eviscerated his torso completely, his legs falling backwards and his head, neck and shoulders landing a distance away.

Deneve sat up with amazement. "She… she did it..."

Miria sat yp in Helen's arms as she called out to the warrior. "This is bad…"

Helen set Miria down as she tried to come over to Helen. "That's enough! Hold yourself back Clare!" as she approached Clare's bladed limbs attacked the ground before her. "Wha-?"

"**Don't come any closer. The blades aren't under my control anymore!" **Clare said.

"What does that mean?" Helen asked.

"**Helen… Cut off my head." **Clare replied, her body continuing to morph out of her control. The three warriors were taken back at the request. **"Because this is an incomplete awakening somehow I was able to preserve my mind But the body's transformation is too far gone already. I cannot go back."**

"What the hell are you saying?" Helen asked, though suspected the answer.

"**With my last remaining strength, I will stop the blades on my body for a moment, in that moment cut off my head."** Clare answered. **"Sorry for making you do this…"**

"Bullshit! It's not decided whether you'll awaken or not yet! Don't just give up!" Helen argued.

"**There is no one else who can do it without getting too close." **Clare replied. **"Please… Helen…" **her body continued to morph. **"There is no time! I myself know best that I cannot return. Please, let me pass on as a human!"**

Helen closed her eyes and winced. _'Damn it Eli! Isn't there something you can do?"_

Eli shook his head, though she couldn't see. _"As it is… my limit has almost been reached as well, right now I'm trying to keep alive those warriors who still have a chance of making it, if I stop doing that to help Clare they will succumb to their wounds and die. Not to mention even if I wasn't doing this technique, I couldn't guarantee a reversing of the process."_

Helen nodded raising her sword, her arm ready to extend. "I'll never forgive you… for making me do this…" she said tears I her eyes.

Clare made a toothy smile. **"Thanks… I owe you… Helen…"**

Helen closed her eyes, ready to extend. "Goddamn it!" her arm was stopped as someone grabbed hold, she look to see it was Jean, a large wound still visible through her torso. The three warrior were taken back by the warrior they thought dead.

"**JEAN!" **Clare called out in a mixture of surprise and happiness.

Jean smiled kindly. "An exact reversal of that time… Clare…" she said weakly.

Clare took the meaning immediately. **"Stay back! This is different! I am not like you! It's too late for me!"**

"That time… you made my awakened self human again…" she said seemingly lost in thought.

"**No! stay back! My body no long-"**Clare began, before realizing she had already impaled Jean several times. **"Jea-"** she stopped as she looked to a peaceful Jean who stared into her yellow eyes with a kindness.

"Turn back." She said simply. "Since it's you. You should be able to. Turn back" Clare was speechless. "There, now I have returned those words from that time, and what I owed you."

"**No way… Jean… why did you do this?"** she whispered.

"Listen closely Clare." Jean requested. "Align your energy with mine. Just like that time. You pulled it off once already, you can definitely do it again. I will restore you with my remaining life force. If the two of us do this, I'm sure it can work."

"**No Jean!"** Clare bawled, her eyes gushing tears. **"Get away from me right now and focus your yoki on healing! If you do that…"**

"You should understand Clare, I'm an offensive type warrior. The wound in my stomach was already lethal. Let me at least use what little life I have left for your sake." She replied, her smile still kind. She then released what little energy she had left. "Do it with me now Clare! Align your yoki with mine!" The warriors began to align their energies as Clare began to morph again her monstrous features receding little by little. "If I think about it, maybe I really did die that time, and continued to live on only for this moment." she mused.

Clare continued to cry as she felt Jean begin to slip away. **"No you are wrong! Your life is yours! It belongs to nobody!"**

Jean smiled once last time, now closing her eyes. "Let me express my gratitude again. Thank you, Clare. I am glad to have met you." Clare continued to call out Jena's name but she could hear it anymore as all sound faded from Jean's mind. _"Live, Clare!"_ Clare was suddenly back, her body back to normal, and Jean dead at her feet.

Clare looked down, dropping her sword as she cradled the warrior's head. "No… this can't be true… Please… please open your eyes… Jean…" Clare whispered. "How can this be?!" she wailed her eyes still streaming tears. "Why did you die? I'm the weakest of all warriors! Then why are you the one who is dead and not me?" she let out a mournful wail as she sobbed.

Miria stood up, looking around at the recent carnage, the fallen warriors, and the being closing in. "I can feel the yoki of six warrior including us. The enemy's number hasn't decreased in ages." _"This is as far as we go…"_

"_I'm afraid so…"_Eli replied. _"I'll keep as many of you alive as I possibly can."_

Deneve got up and walked over to the still form of Undine. "As long as you have the one from your friend long ago, that should be enough as a gravestone… commander." She then picked up Undine's blade, placing it on her back. "Sorry, but I'll be taking this one, Undine."

The remaining warriors gathered together as the beings closed in. "Time for the flashy showdown then." Miria remarked.

Clare was still sobbing over Jean's body when Deneve walked over and kicked it to the side, drawing the attention of every warrior but most of all Clare who looked up to Deneve in surprise. "How long are you going to sit there? DO you want Jean's death to be in vein?" Clare was speechless. "Unable to protect your commander, and in the end even using Jena's life, you are alive right now. Don't forget the weight of the lives you carry, or do you want to kill Jean Flora and the others again right here?" Clare clenched her fists standing up, tears still in her eyes. "You who were able to take revenge are better off. My war for vengeance starts here." She said wielding her new second blade.

The beings circled in until they surrounded the warriors, now back to back. "Let's go this is out last battle." Miria ordered, gripping her blade tightly.

"_See you all on the other side." _Eli said before his mind went silent once more.

* * *

><p><em>Organization Headquarters…<em>

* * *

><p>"How is the situation in the north?" one man asked.<p>

"They have engaged twenty awakened beings in the north, the number of casualties is unknown."

"What about Isley's movement?"

"Still far from Pieta." Another replied. "He's moving south at human speed."

"So it's all just one of Isley's whims… How vexing… But it looks like thanks to that we have gained some more time." The man observed. "Is Alicia still not completed?"

"She doesn't pass ninety-five percent for now. We need just a little more time." Another replied.

"I see that means the warriors in the north will just have to buy you time until Alicia is completed right?" a feminine voice cut in.

"Galatea." The aging man observed. 'How rare for you to show your face at the Organization voluntarily. Don't you have things to do?"

"I do it fact." She replied. "Because half of my comrades have been sent to the north, I have been rather busy. But since new entries have been filling our ranks I somehow managed. By the way aren't these investments a little premature with so many warriors still fighting in the north?"

"It's only a matter of time before they are obliterated." He replied. "This is, of course, regrettable. For the Organization, losing twenty-four warriors in a manner like this is a severe loss and at the same time an annoying state of affairs."

Galatea scoffed. "What a shameless thing to say. There's no way the Organization would not have known about this beforehand. Getting rid of warriors who have shown rebellious streaks while conveniently having them act as a roadblock is your real motivation right?"

The man waved a hand. "You should stop putting forward these unjust suspicions. It would be a pain if this got into ears of people who can't keep their mouths shut. Don't think you'll be treated special forever, the Organization's next 'eye' is being trained even as we speak."

"I see the training of a more docile 'eye' and under the pretext of are surveillance you will have the new eye observe the north." She deduced. "Nearby will be number five Raphaela, who await those who abandon their 'duty' of serving as a roadblock under the name of 'punishment for insubordination'. Is that about right?  
>The man grimaced as a new voice cut in. "See that's exactly what we mean. We keep telling you that these kind of delusions are a bad habit. "After a multitude of awakened beings appeared in the north we received a request to exterminate them all and ever though we sent twenty-four warriors overwhelmed by the northern beings' unforeseen unity and simultaneous assault we lost all of them. That is the only truth to both the Organization as well as the warriors."<p>

"More like 'trying to lose'. Isn't that right?" Galatea asked.

Rubel smiled. "Oh but of course, the outcome isn't decided yet after all. In any case just return to your area obediently. I sympathize with your feelings about your comrades."

Galatea simply scoffed and left the room as the elder man grimaced. "It seems like it would be wise to speed up the completion of the next 'eye' as well. She is superb but she has lived too long, and once they live too long they begin to have dangerous thoughts. Warriors that die within a moderate amount of time are the best."

* * *

><p><em>Back in Isley's place…<em>

* * *

><p>Isley and Raki continued to spar.<p>

"Good you're doing well! Sharper! Continue attacking without halting even the sword's movement! Steadily! Continually! " Isley instructed before Raki fell on his face, Isley's blade next to it. "You're actually not too bad. Your balance is pretty good, hell I'd even say you're a natural!" he compliment the boy helping him up. "Have you ever trained with anybody before?"

Raki thought back to Li. 'Well i-" he was interrupted as his stomach growled again and Isley smiled.

"I guess we should call it a day then. We should rest anyways, the blizzard stops tomorrow." Isley said.

Raki watched with admiration as Isley walked away. _"He's awesome using his sword without hesitation! It's like he doesn't even want to hit me! Rather it feel like he's guiding my blade with his will. It feels kinda like…" _He thought back to other silver haired man. _"I should have listened to his instruction more, but if I stay with this guy I can become stronger! Maybe even surpass Eli with the blade!"_

Raki thoughts were interrupted by Isley "Raki, I don't see Pricilla anywhere, she might have gone outside. Can you go and look for her?"

* * *

><p><em>Outside of Isley's place…<em>

* * *

><p>Raki wandered in his coat calling out into the snow for Pricilla's name. "Man why would she go outside in this blizzard?" he then noticed something on the ground, Pricilla's coat. "Pricilla's coat? Why is it just lying here?" he looked up and saw Pricilla standing naked over a ridge. "Pricilla!" he called out to her. She turned around with tears in her eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked, then looked to the coat he walked over and put it around her. "Anyways put this on. Never mind catching a cold, at this rate you'll freeze to death." he looked to the girl. <em>"I wonder why but when I look at this girl… I think of Clare…Even though her face and vibe are totally different… why?"<em>

"So this is where you were… Just wandering around as you please… as usual." Isley cut in from behind.

Raki turned around with a start. "Erm… I can explain this, Isley!"

"Disappeared… many, many have disappeared…" she whispered.

"What has?" Raki asked.

Isley looked up. "Yes many, many have disappeared, only six small lights remain."

The warriors in the distance fought on.

Raki looked to them both. "What is this about 'disappearing'?" he asked.

"Another gone. Three remain." Pricilla said.

"It's about tiny lights in a faraway place, they are disappearing one by one." Isley explained.

"One more has disappeared." Pricilla said. "The last two are strong, much stronger than the other lights, but fickle as well. One of them went out, only one remains…" she looked to the sky. "And now all the lights have disappeared."

* * *

><p><em>Hours later…<em>

* * *

><p>Eli finally took a break, coming out of his hiding spot in the church, walking past the massive debris in the main hall. He walked out the doorway, now door-free and beheld the carnage. Pieta had been decimated, no building left untouched. <em>"Damn, only seven? Was that the best I could do?"<em>

Miria was a ways away clenching her fists. "Was seven really all I was able to save?" she muttered to herself. "There must have been something… a better way… anyway… did I really…"

Miria was picked up by Deneve and Clare. "Look at us, Miria. These are the lives you have saved." The live warriors, Deneve, Clare, Helen, Cynthia, Tabitha, Yuma, looked to their leader and she back to them. "Nobody is cursing you. As long as we understand the feelings of those who died it will be alright. We were really fortunate to have you as a leader. I believe that from the bottom of my heart."

Eli grimaced as he approached. "If anyone is to blame it is me. I couldn't save more than you seven. Forgive me. Many of them whom I tried to save were already too far gone and I was only prolonging their suffering, others had been wounded so mortally that the chances of me doing anything useful were none. And others…" he paused. "Others I could have healed but let go to prioritize those who had the best chances of living, I'm sorry I wasn't stronger." He bowed his head in shame.

Helen walked over to him putting her hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to apologize either you big idiot. You did the best you could and we appreciate that."

Cynthia got up brushing herself off. "At any rate, it looks like this is the end."

"No, this isn't the end." Eli replied. "This isn't even the beginning of the end. Only the end of the beginning. And we have work to do."

* * *

><p><em>Weeks later… Outside of the Organization's headquarters…<em>

* * *

><p>"So… Pieta has fallen..." a man in black said. "The awakened beings from the North split up to go east and west, and it seems half of them are on their way here. I wonder if Isley is aware of Alicia's existence…"<p>

"Who knows." Another man in black replied. "But even if he doesn't know about Alicia, he might have predicted that we'd make preparations like this. Isley's as cunning as ever, we were a hair's breadth from this turning into a crisis for the Organization. Thank God we completed Alicia in time."

Galatea stood nearby, looking towards a long blonde haired warrior clad in black. "So this is Alicia/ This is actually the first time I've seen her. But more than ten awakened beings are headed this way, what is she supposed to do all alone?" Galatea noticed another person approaching Alicia and it was an exact look alike of Alicia. "_There are two Alicia's? This is…"_ She took notice of their different emblems, recognizing the second one. _"No… the other one is number two Beth. So… those two are twins? But what's with the completely black uniform?"_

"You seem surprised by those two." Rubel cut in from behind. "She is also known as 'Alicia the Black'. Because she hardly ever appears in the area she's assigned to, there are many who only know her name. But actually Alicia and Beth are both called 'The Black Ones'."

"Is there any deeper meaning behind those black uniforms?" She asked.

Rubel gave his small knowing smile. "You will understand when you see it. Brand new uniforms aren't worth paying for when they're fighting."

"What?" she asked.

Just then a horde of beings appeared before Alicia and Beth. _'They are… eleven all in all. All of them above average at least…"_ Galatea thought.

The being heading the group looked down on the two black clad warrior. "**Huh? That's it?! BOOORING! We had so much more fun in Pieta…"**

Neither Alicia nor Beth moved a muscle. The man in black spoke to them. "Attack. Alicia."

Alicia began to release large amounts of yoki. **"You really want to do this? All alone?" **Alicia's body morphed and changed drawing astonished looks from Galatea and the beings.

"It… it can't be…" she whispered. She and the beings beheld the awakened from of Alicia. A humanoid bladed creature, sharp appendages sticking out of her head, neck and torso while also running up and down the length of her arm.

"**Sh… She awakened?!" **the being said, absolutely caught off guard. **"No wa-"** it started before Alicia cut him off with a quick slice to his head. The begins all tried to engage her, but her small form and quick speed allowed her to evade her attackers as she took out the beings one by one.

Galatea was astonished. "Im-impossible! How can this be? She still only attacks her targets even though she awakened?" she took a quick look to Beth who stood motionless with her eyes closed. "Soul… link…?"

"As expected from you Galatea. You are quickest to understand these kinds of things…" Rubel commented. "By using twins to create warriors for the Organization, we have a complete congruity of yoki, and through strict training we succeeded them in making them merge their spirits. Therefore even if one of them preforms a full release of yoki as long as she entrusts her spirit to the other she can awaken with losing her heart. That's the theory behind it, in simple terms. Well, it's not as simple as it sounds, but that is the broad principle behind it, not unlike how you align your yoki to manipulate opponents."

"Certainly, even I can't align yoki perfectly. But it does seem possible when you use the same yoma to transform a pair of twins into warriors." SHE PAUSED FOR A MOMMENT. "But then those two must…"

"Correct" Rubel replied. "Almost none of their 'self' remains. They have almost no intellect aside from what is needed to fight the enemy. Because from their infancy they were taught nothing but how to align their spirits and how to destroy the enemy. And thus someone who can oppose even the abyssal ones, the strongest number one in the annals was born."

"This is probably a little late… but you people make me sick." She replied.

Rubel simply continued to grin. "All of this is only done so the Organization can keep protecting humans from yoma."

* * *

><p><em>Far to the west…<em>

* * *

><p>"<strong>It's been a while… Dauf."<strong> One of the beings started, facing the former number three. **'How the mighty have fallen, former number three. Living the retired life in such a backwater place? Well, you Isley and Rigardo never got along, even when we were still Claymores."** Dauf said nothing. **"Rigardo…him becoming one of Isley's comrades surprised me, because he always thought he was the better one. Using out awakening as a pretext he challenged him to a duel, after getting his ass handed to him he finally swore loyalty to Isley. Well anyways, the trends of this age are obvious. Opposing Isley like that to support this little country girl from the west, you picked the wrong side." **Suddenly a spike rammed itself into the being's face, ramming all the way through the skull and out the back.

Dauf wiped his mouth, where the spike had originated. **"Sorry 'bout that. The story was getting kind of long and I had to burp."**

The begins gritted their teeth, preparing to attack, when suddenly a rain of large tendrils came down, impaling many of the brings. **"**Tsk tsk… You really don't seem to understand." A small feminine voice cut in. Sitting atop Dauf's shoulder was the small human form of Riful, her arm the source of the tendrils. "I think out of all of us here, I know the true nature of that man Isley the best." The beings recognized her and one of them tried to rush and strike her. Dauf smacked him away with a strong hammer fist, knocking the head clean off as the other being watched. "It was probably you who were the ones rto pick the wrong side."

* * *

><p><em>Elsewhere… In the South…<em>

* * *

><p>Isley looked to the sky admiring it as he stood in a field of flowers. "A beautiful sky. I haven't seen such a blue sky in quite a while."<p>

A feminine voice broke him from his thoughts. "How cruel. Splitting your comrades between East and West then going south when they have all perished. They probably never imagined that they would become cannon fodder to slow us down."

Isley sighed. 'Truth be told. I don't like groups."

"What a coincidence, me neither." The voice replied. "Anyways I knew all along what you were tring to do."

Islay smiled turning towards the source of the voice. "That makes things easier. So let's get started right away." He faced a woman with long hair which she wore in bunches, with a long dress with lots of ruffles. "I've come to take these lands, Luciela of the South."

* * *

><p><em>Elsewhere…<em>

* * *

><p>Pricilla stared out the window towards the south. "Won't you eat anything Pricilla? This is good!" Raki chimed in. "I cook pretty well southern style." She didn't move. "You don't have to worry so much. It's a little far but he will be back soon, that what Isley said." The table began to vibrate. "The table is vibrating, an earthquake?"<p>

* * *

><p><em>Back in the South…<em>

* * *

><p>The field had exploded as Luciela landed on a small rock plateau. Large spikes stuck out from the ground in all direction around her. Luciela smirked. "Weren't you the one who suggested we fight in our current forms to avoid ruining these lands, which we both desire, too much?"<p>

Isley returned the smirk. "Well that was indeed my intention. But…" He looked to her, his arm now a large, metallic and bow-like. "I can't say, 'As expected what a mess' either at this point can I?" he pointed the bow towards her drawing back an appendage. "And weren't you the one who broke that promise first?" he let go of the appendage firing a bolt.

Luciela, deflected it. "How rude. Doesn't that mean you are accusing me of lying?" she said, whipping out two large serpentine tails from underneath her dress. She drew one close, small mouths with sharp teeth lined up and down the length of the tails. "I had these all along. Looks like you didn't notice them because they were hidden under my dress though."

Isley smiled wearily. "Oh boy, that's really hard to swallow."

"Yours is the meat that's so disgusting I can't even swallow it though." She shot back.

Isley sighed. "No good after all. No matter how long I live… I can't win against women when it comes to being witty." He released his yoki fully and began to transform.

Luciela smirked. "I see so this is how it turns out after all." Isley finished transforming into a huge, sleek, black centaur with glowing, pupil-less, ice-blue eyes, his arm still looking something akin to a bow. "I prefer the transformed you… so much better than that pretty boy form." She commented. Isley drew back, aiming five bolts at her and released them into the air. They flew straight up as Luciela watched. "Where are you aiming?" the arrows suddenly turned and impaled her. "I see once you transform your arrows home in on their own accord, plus the power and velocity are in a different league too… How regrettable I liked the scenery around here so much…" she too transformed, her body morphing into large humanoid with feline hind legs, a cat-like head with two gaping jaws, one atop the other, gold cat-like eyes, jagged, bony plates on her back, thighs and elbows and two long, muscular tails. Isley fired a second barrage, the bolt hitting their target but not getting through as mouths manifested at the arrows' points of contact. **"Despite what I said earlier, I am in fact a rather bad eater." **

Islay observed then transformed his bow into a shield as his right arm became a lance. **"No tricks. I will attack frontally."**

"**A straight on charge? Very well…"** she said tensing her body. **"I will be so kind to devour every ounce of your flesh."**

The two clashed with a large explosion.

* * *

><p><em>Back outside of the Organization's Headquarters…<em>

* * *

><p>Galatea sensed something to the east and south.<p>

Rubel noticed. "What is it Galatea? Do you see something?"

"No." she answered. _"I can't sense anything at this range normally… am I just seeing things? Just a few steps away are Alicia and Beth who rival the abyssal ones, and we are surrounded by a number of awakened being at above average level. It's very possible I just misread something. Anyways… "_ she looked to the carnage left in Alicia's wake. _"So many awakened beings in such a short time. So this is what is to be expected from someone who was specifically created to destroy the abyssal ones?"_ she looked to Alicia and Beth, now essentially the same person. "Since the Organization's top three have gathered already, I want to have a little talk with those two."

"Don't." Rubel advised. "As I said earlier they haven't a real mind. Especially returning from their awakened from is a delicate moment each time. Especially on Beth, because in the end it's upon her whether Alicia is able to return properly or awaken in full capacity. Well this technique is only possible with twins, we tried with normal sisters before and it failed catastrophically."

"Could that be the former number one…?" Galatea wondered aloud.

"Whoops, did I say to much?' he asked with a smile. "We have you under surveillance because you ignored orders and are sticking your nose into things that aren't your business. Leave now."

"What became of the other sister from that time?" Galatea asked.

Rubel paused. "She still has that wounds she received long ago and still wanders around. Trying to settle the score. Then find a place to die herself."

* * *

><p><em>Back in the south…<em>

* * *

><p>Islay and Luciela continued their clash as Rafaela, step by step, came closer to the fight.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Many years ago…<em>

* * *

><p>Luciela roared as her awakened form took hold. "Luciela is out of control!" a man in black shouted. "You have to pull her back!"<p>

"No it's too late!" another shouted.

Luciela roared again, "Shit go back… go back..."a voice whispered desperately. Rafaela clenched her left eyes, tears streaming out of the other. "Go back! LUCIELAAAAA!" But the being simply faded into the distance.

* * *

><p><em>Later…<em>

* * *

><p>"Most of the Organization has been annihilated. Even counting the trainees more than half of our warriors are gone. All because of one single mistake." A man in black lamented.<p>

"Some had the opinion that it was too dangerous to rely on normal sisters for this. Looks like the selection of human specimens will be the focus this time." The other replied.

"Yes… Selection…" the first agreed. "The little sister who kept the spirit this time was too weak. Rafaela wasn't strong enough."

* * *

><p><em>Elsewhere…<em>

* * *

><p>Rafaela lay on her bed looking to the ceiling. Rubel entered the room, looking at the bandages over the left eye. "Looks like they mopped up the floor with you." He commented. "What's up with your eye? Even if you're offensive you should be able to regenerate it." He then noticed something with a smirk. "tsk tsk… You're suppressing yout yoki even now? That's futile at this point. You couldn't be thinking something gas absurd as brining Luciela back are you? Or is this your idea of atonement for letting your big sister become something like that?" Rafaela said nothing. "Heh. Probably both."<p>

"What happened to Luciela?" She asked.

"She went south, with this Isley of the North, Riful of the West and Luciela of the South all neatly split up excluding the east." He explained. "Even so thank God there weren't any unnecessary conflicts. IS seems like she will line up nicely with the other two as the third deserving the name 'Abyssal one'. The Organization plans to play the observer for now. How you will we dealt with hasn't been decided yet. It's likely they will strip you of your rank."

"Strip me of my rank?" she repeated.

"Such measure is rarely taken by the Organization… But this case will probably cause major repercussions for the Organization." He continued. "Motivating you, who has power equal to Luciela, and an incident like Luciela must be avoided at all costs, is probably what they are thinking. Especially right now after losing your big sister, it wouldn't be surprising if you just abandoned yourself. 'Don't confront', 'Don't touch' seems to be the general consensus."

"As if I'm already dead." She said bitterly.

"In a way… yes." He agreed. "You will be a dead warrior erased form the list of the organization. Dead people like you should act like dead people. Stay quiet and try not to stand out too much."

* * *

><p><em>Later…<em>

* * *

><p>Rafaela wandered the streets of some random town, cloaked and scared.<p>

"Did you hear about the Zemas." One of the townspeople said, Rafaela overhearing. "Recently they had twin girls and the suddenly one of those black cloaks from the Claymore people came to visit and insisted they hand them over."

"This is rare." Another said. "Those Claymore people might take orphans as they please. But I've never heard of them directly approaching parents and asking them for their kids."

* * *

><p><em>Later…<em>

* * *

><p>Rafaela sat on the forest floor, taking a breather.<p>

"Hey sis' are you a normal human?" a young feminine voice cut in from behind. She turned around to see a young girl her blonde hair curly and in a ponytail. "I thought I felt a little yoki from youy, so small it seemed like it would disappear at any time."

"A trainee from the Organization?" Raphaela wondered.

"Ah, as I thought. Why is your yoma energy like this?" the girl asked.

"Do you have a sister?" Rafaela asked.

"Nah I don't." she replied.

Rafaela placed a hand on the girl's forehead. "Thank God."

A man came crashing through the forest. "Damn so you were in a place like this again." He grabbed her arm. "How many times have we gone through this? Stop this crap already!"

"Oi!" Raphaela called out to him. "Did she come here, running away from training?"

He sneered at her. "None of your business! Don't stick your nose into…" he recognized her. "Ra-Raphaela! Why are you here?"

"Never mind that, does she run away from the organization often and comer to this town?" She asked.

"Ah… yeah." He answered. "No matter how many times we tell her she doesn't listen. She's a problem child, we don't know what to do with her."

Raphaela observed the girl. _"I can't believe it! Even if it's closest town from the Organization. Despite the moderate distance. This is the wilderness in which yoma and wild animals roam."_

"Are we done?" He asked. "I was told to bring her back to the Organization quickly."

"Hey little miss what's your name?" She asked.

"Teresa."

* * *

><p><em>Later still…<em>

* * *

><p>Raphaela sat in a dark cave as the rain poured heavily outside.<p>

Rubel entered from the downpour. "Gosh, what a terrible rain! Doesn't look like it will stop any time soon either."

"Good job finding me here." She said.

"Maybe I can't read yoma energy. But my intuition works pretty well." He replied. "Then again even if I could… it would be futile to look for you with the way you are now."

"So? What business do you have with the deceased?" she asked.

"Teresa's dead." He informed, gaining a reaction from Rafaela. "At the same time we lost numbers two through four. The result of the next candidate for the next number one awakening. She was still extremely inexperienced as a warrior, but the result was something beyond even the abyssal ones."

"And?" she asked. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"Return to the Organization." He said. "You will be given a number too. Losing all the numbers one through four and even the next candidate for number one, the Organization is short on people. We want everyone with even a little power to be on our side. And keeping your yoki hidden like that we want you to engage in covert ops for the Organization."

"What do I gain from this?"

"Information on the abyssal one of the south, Luciela." Rapahela's interest was piqued at this. "Because a new strong one has appeared they abyssal ones can't stay 'in the abyss' as they have been, mostly likely all three of them will begin to make moves. In a battle between the abyssal ones at least one of them should die, and the one to lose her life might be Luciela." He paused. "I asked once before if you suppress your yoki because you want to save Luciela, but no… what you really want is to kill her, right?" Raphaela was silent. "That is your correction of the mistake you made yourself and at the same time the reason for you living. So/ those conditions aren't bad for you." He reached out with his hand towards her. "Come Raphaela, we need your power." She took it. "From now on you are the Organization's number five."

* * *

><p><em>Back in the Present, the battlefield of Isley and Luciela…<em>

* * *

><p>Isley stood among the wreckage, his lance broken, his shield battered, and missing a section of his cheek as his teeth showed. <strong>"Damn, I was so close."<strong>

Luciela fled through the forest, badly injured. **"Damn! Damn that man! I definitely won't forget this!"** Luciela felt her power fade, growing smaller and smaller until she returned to her human form. :I can't keep my awakened form. I used too much energy. Damn at this rate he will…" she then sensed something and turned around to see a face she hadn't seen in a great many years. Tears began to fall down her face as she beheld the scared face of her sister. Rafaela remained impassive as she gripped her blade tightly. She held her arms open wide for the warrior. "Raphaela… Raphaela… all this time… all this time I wanted to see you." She choked out.

"Sister." Raphaela whispered then dropped her blade rushing over and hugging her sister. "I'm so sorry sister… if I if I had only been stronger…"

Luciela smiled with tears. "That's okay, that's okay Raphaela, it's not your fault. "

"I wanted to see you too…. And I wanted to apologize… I'm so sorry sister… I'm so sorry…" Raphaela whispered.

"It's not your fault…" Luciela replied. "He is to blame for all of this! He hurt me so much and stole these lands from me!" Raphaela's face then became impassive again her facial features unseen by her elder sister. "Please lend me your strength! He's at his limit too! If it's you… if you awaken now you can surly beat him in his state!" she said at the newfound prospect of defeating one of her longtime rivals. "Yes if it's us, if it's the two of us we can do it! Not just the south but all of the lands could be ours!" Luciela felt Raphaela's grip tighten around her back. "That hurts Raphaela. My whole body is exhausted so I'm a little…"

"Sister…" Raphaela whispered. "I'm so sorry sister at that time if only I had been stronger…" she bang to release her yoki for the first time in years and her grip began to grow tighter and tighter.

Luciela began to panic. "Wha-what are you doing? Raphaela? What are you doing?!" Raphaela ignored her and continued to squeeze. "Please stop it!" she pleaded. "I wanted to see you so badly all this time! All this time! So why?!" she wailed. "I'll give you half of all those lands, no if you want that even more! Much, much, more! So please! Please!" she pleaded.

_**SNAP**_

Luciela remained still as her body went limp Raphaela held it there, still embracing her sister.

"I love you big sister."

* * *

><p><strong>Okay so one or two months come and gone, maybe a little more. Who care's as long as it's updated right? Well… about that. See, this is fun, really it is, but unfortunately I can't keep up. To be honest lately I've had to drag myself to try and do this, and it's hard to be unmotivated and write a good story at the same time. So starting now, this story is on a hiatus, I don't know when I'll be back, could be months or years, if I even remember. I'll come back eventually, probably, just not anytime soon, and I felt this was as good a place as any to stop since this is where there time skip takes place, plus I made this my longest chapter to date as a bonus for you who have stayed with me for so long, you know who you are. And Hell if you think I'm taking too long by all means start your own story where i left off, you don't need to ask my permission or anything just go for it. Anyways Epsilon is calling for me right now and if I don't answer her she gets kinda pissed so until next time (whenever that is) stay golden, and thanks for reading. <strong>

**P.S. Yes, i get it already, I got bad grammer. Me no speaky the good English, stop ripping on me for it! I'm working on it!**


	12. Ch 12: A Promise is a Promise

**So… It's been months since I last touched this. I'll be honest it's been tempting to just walk away and never look back like so many other authors have done with their stories. But I don't want to be like them. I've started something, and however good or bad it may or may not be, it doesn't seem right to just leave it as is. I've looked over my chapters, reading them as any of you have, and reading the reviews. I know my grammar sucks, I've said it time and again, maybe I should have paid more attention in English, or gotten hooked on Phonics when I was a kid, but I digress. I like to think I put story before anything else, after which follows character development, dialogue, and at the bottom of the list, grammar. Maybe it's a half assed excuse for not going back to do basic grammatical cleanup… and maybe you're right, but as long as you get the story I'm trying to convey, can't you look past it?**

**I don't own Claymore.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 12: A Promise is a Promise<p>

* * *

><p><em>Approximately One year prior to Elijah's desertion…<em>

* * *

><p>Snow, Elijah always hated the snow… it was cold, wet, and an inconvenience. Though since becoming a warrior for the organization he didn't notice it much anymore. His body had a heightened regulation and was never too cold or too hot to be an inconvenience in either extreme.<p>

Still it had other annoyances to accompany it, when it melted it made his clothes damp and his armor rust, rain was less of an aggravation, mostly because when it hit the ground it dissipated quite easily, but snow packed, becoming an irritating speed bump in an otherwise uneventful walk.

But this walk was anything but uneventful.

* * *

><p><em>Earlier that day…<em>

* * *

><p>Elijah wondered through a nameless forest, seemingly lost in thought when he noticed a familiar face approaching.<p>

"What is it?" he asked.

The emissary of the Organization, produced a black card from within his cloak and threw it to Elijah who caught it. "Seems someone wants you to be their final visitor."

Eli caught the card with ease and turn it over to see the symbol. He gazed at the three straight line on the card then looked to the cloaked man. "Isley? He's awakening?"

The emissary simply shrugged once. "So it would seem, strange I thought that you would awaken long before he."

Elijah just blinked, emotionlessly. "I suppose I would take insult if I didn't share that sentiment myself."

The man turned to leave. "Then you had best get started, before a great monster stirs from his slumber."

* * *

><p>Elijah made little noise as he walked through the woods, the soft crunch of snow underneath was all that accompanied him. It was an eerily quite silence, as if he could hear the flakes themselves bursting on impact with the ground as so many others had before them, and that was the thing. There were no birds around, no hares or wolves or bears or deer. The whole forest seemed tense with anticipation as if even the trees themselves were holding their breaths.<p>

Elijah then walked over a hill and saw him, one of the only people to ever earn his respect. The only one left whose powers surpassed his own. Isley, the White-haired King.

"You're late Elijah." The man said, his voice strong yet charming, mirroring his demeanor. "I expected you to find me hours ago."

"I would have been here sooner, but this snow kept getting in the way." Elijah replied looking to the ground at it. "Such an inconvenience it is."

Isley looked to the sky as flakes floated past his face. "Yes. It can get rather annoying can't it?" He reached out his hand to touch a flake, only for it to melt away almost instantaneously in his hand. "Still, it doesn't bother us like it does normal humans. If they get too cold from this, they can die. But not us, we don't get cold, or hot for that matter. We just keep going on and on…"

Isley turned to face Elijah, his silver eyes meeting Elijah's. Elijah looked him up and down, noticing something. "You sent me the black card, Isley. Yet as I look at you now and am close enough to feel your yoki, I sense you are still far from awakening."

Isley smiled and clapped slowly, Elijah remained ever stoic. "That is correct. I knew you would notice."

Elijah turned to leave. "Then this was all pointless." He turned and took a step away from Isley.

"Stop." The superior warrior ordered. Elijah did but did not turn back around, merely withdrawing his step and now standing perfectly still. "Don't you want to know what this was all about? Why I called you here?"

"I don't care to indulge you, Isley. I have work to do." The stoic warrior replied, taking another step. This time Isley, quick as light, closed the distance between them, putting his hand on Elijah's shoulder, never making a sound.

"Don't be that way, Elijah." Isley said, his smirk never dropping. "I have something really important to discuss with you."

Elijah looked over his shoulder, eyeing the hand. He sighed turned around and stared Isley face to face. "Fine, but be quick about it."

Isley's smirk widened. "Good. Now as you know you and I are the only single digits left of the male generation…" he began, pacing in the snow. "Not the last two males but only a dozen or so of us are left in total. The organization has stopped trying to use boys entirely and had begun serious work into recruiting females into our ranks."

Elijah shrugged. "It can't be helped. We are, apparently, more susceptible to awakening, and those of us that don't are killed by the ones that do."

Isley snapped his fingers and pointed to Eli, as if in accusation. "Exactly my point! We can't fight our former brethren, not like this. Since their awakening the single digits have been rampaging all over, none able to stop their carnage or match their power."

Elijah continued to frown. "I know all this, what's the point you're trying to make?"

Isley stopped in his tracks, now a few feet away and faced Elijah squarely. "We need that power to destroy them Elijah! We need to awaken."

Elijah blinked once, his mind almost not believing what his ears were hearing. "I beg your pardon?"

Isley walked forward, gripping Elijah's shoulders with a firm clasp and giving a wide smile to his face. "You heard me right! We need to awaken! That way we will have power enough to kill the monsters our brethren have become and save this land! What do you think?"

Elijah blinked again, taking a step back and knocking away Isley's grip with a swipe of his arm. "What do I think? What do I _think_? I think you've gone mad." Elijah replied, his voice still smooth and steady though now his arm began slowly reaching for his weapon.

Isley, still held his smile, though now it dimmed a bit. "I suppose I was asking for that reaction." He said scratching the back of his head. "But think of it Elijah. We are two warriors who have never had to use our yoki to the extremes, we've never been pushed to the edge. What if we could control that power? And together? As a team? We'd be unstoppable."

"No one can control that power, Isley." Elijah stated flatly. "Power is not worth madness."

Isley took another step forward. "Elijah, part of the reason you and I have survived so long is that we've both have excellent yoki control. If anyone could still retain their minds after awakening it would surely be you and me."

"You know as well as I do, that once a warrior awakens, anything that was once human about them, _inside _of them, is gone, forever." Elijah stated again, now touching the tip of his blade handle.

Isley's smile faded completely into a straight face. "I still believe we can do it. And those traitors? Rigardo, Dauf, Chronos, Lars… we could eliminate them all, and punish them for what they did to our unawakened brothers who went after them."

"We may be able to eliminate them Isley, but not like this." Elijah replied. "When the Organization replenishes our ranks…"

Isley snorted. "With what? Little girls? No woman warrior will ever be able to match up to the power we once had Elijah."

"Those days are long behind us Isley." The lower ranked warrior said, now crouching slightly.

Isley closed his eyes. "Yes. They are." He disappeared in a flash.

Elijah's eyes widened as he quickly drew his blade to block Isley's attempt to slash his chest. Isley followed up quickly with lightening fact thrusts and slashes. Elijah dodged and blocked but was only barely able to hold on. Isley came down hard with a downward slash as Elijah blocked with his claymore. Isley put on pressure as the younger warrior fell to one knee. "You've gotten better Elijah, but you are still no match for me."

Elijah looked to his superior, gritting his teeth. "Stop this madness, Isley. Before it's too late."

Isley smirked and with a swift, powerful kick sent Elijah flying into a tree. Elijah looked up to see Isley was releasing his yoki, and quite rapidly. Elijah had no time to think and began to release his yoki as well. The snow was blown away as both Isley and Elijah began to gain strength and speed. But as the battle raged on, Isley began to push Elijah back. His blows were fast and efficient and though the younger warrior tried to keep up he was no match.

The elder warrior with a powerful blow knocked the claymore out of Elijah's hands. He then quickly threw aside his own sword and came up from behind, getting Elijah into a headlock, the both of them now looking more like raging snarling beasts than men.

Elijah struggled in vain beneath him as Isley gave a wide toothy grin. "**You'll see Elijah! You'll see I'm right!**" Elijah continued to struggle until he felt a presence reach out to his yoki. He realized what Isley was trying to do. Isley snarled and grinned wildly. "**Don't fight it! Embrace the power!**" with that Isley finished the yoki synch and began to release even more of his power, Elijah's yoki now rising with it.

Elijah could feel the power rising inside himself. He felt like he was sinking, but it also felt amazing, the best feeling he had ever experienced. His mind was racing. _"What do I do? Any longer and I'll lose myself. I… I don't want to lose myself." _ He felt the last bits of himself fade into nothingness. _"I am… I am…"_

Then it was quiet again. Complete silence. Isley looked at his hands, they were now a dark grey-black, he looked down to see hooves and behind him to see an equine-like back. He looked around for his claymore and picked it up. It was now so small in his grip it felt more like a child's toy than a weapon. He then looked to the unconscious mass in front of him and blinked once, his pupil-less ice blue eyes locking on.

There was what he knew to be Elijah. His arms had grown and widened, now resembling bird's wings, his legs long, bony and skinny and feathers protruding all over his upper torso, arms, and head. But it all looked half-formed as if in the middle of transforming something had willed it to stop. "**So… it seems you weren't able to awaken fully after all, Elijah. A shame. I expected more form you.**" He then looked to the sky for a moment. "**Though, I don't really feel like killing yoma anymore, I'm just… hungry.**" Isley grip tightened on his blade until it snapped, the fragments of the blade falling in the snow. "**Isley, the claymore is no more.**" He looked one last time to Elijah's form. "**This is goodbye, number one. I hope, for your sake, we never meet again.**" With his last words Isley disappeared, and the silence reigned once more.

* * *

><p><em>Twenty-three years, 2 months, 13 days after Elijah's desertion of the Organization…<em>

* * *

><p>A wander drifted into a town like any other. The cloaked man roving through the town like driftwood on the open sea. He eventually found the same thing he sought in every town he came to, the local pub. He got a few stray glances, especially with his weapon, as he walked over to a bar stool and sat down, slumping his head into the table.<p>

The bartender eyed him, with a mix of irritation and disgust. He knew these types, would drink all the booze in the world if they had their way, which was fine except most of them didn't have two bronze beras to rub together. Nothing was worse for business than a drunk who couldn't pay his tab, or worse being a place known for allowing that sort of thing.

Knowing he had to make that clear right away the bartender moved closer to the stranger, eyeing the man's weapon cautiously. "Hey… Hey buddy." The gruff man said, poking the man's head with one finger. The stranger gave a mumble and waved his hand in the air, as if swatting a fly, then remained still once more. The bartender furrowed his brow. "Hey, listen pal." He began, putting a hand on the man's shoulder hand shaking. "You order something or you get out."

The man gave a shudder and looked up, his eyes hidden beneath his hood. "Fine. Give me you hardest drink and keep them coming." He flopped back down to the counter.

The bartender raised a brow but poured the drink nonetheless. He set the shot glass down in front of the man. The stranger looked up, albeit barely, and grasped the glass, he began to take it to his lips when the battened grabbed his wrist. "Now look son, you take that and you pay for it, no free drinks here."

The stranger grunted and spoke in a weary voice. "Don't worry, I'll be able to cover it."

The bartender looked at the man for a second and squeezed once, enforcing the consequences of being a free loader. With his interference gone the man downed the drink in a flash, setting down the shot glass. "Another." He ordered.

The man poured, this shot gone as soon as the first. "Another." The bartender poured.

"Another."

Pour.

"Another."

Pour.

"Another."

The bartender shook his head. "I don't think so."

The man gave a visible frown under his hood. "I want another."

"No." the bartender replied sternly. "You aren't getting another drop until I see some money."

The man sneered and with hands faster than lightning, snatched the bottle out of his hands. Gulping down the remaining contents and slamming the bottle down on the counter. The bartender had had it. He drew a large mace out from under the bar and set it down on the counter. "Now here's what's gonna happen. You're gonna either pay me what's owed and get the hell out of here, or I'm going to take you out back where my boys and I show what we do to free loading drunks."

The stranger looked up and then to his sides, three burly looking men had stood up from their places around the pub and were eying him down. He stood up and sighed. "Fine." He grabbed the bottle and broke it on the counter, then he threw the shattered bottle at a patron, the bottle hit him square in the forehead, the sharp side imbedded in his skull. The man looked at the bottle for a second then slumped over, his head hitting the table with a thud.

The bartender made a move towards the stranger as did the bouncers. But the stranger held up his hand and they paused. "Wait." There was a moment of silence and then the slumped man shuddered and got up with a start roaring, his skin turning a slimy green-grey, his eyes turning gold and his teeth becoming sharp as his claws came out.

The yoma pushed aside the table making a mad, enraged dash at the stranger, his claws poised to attack. The four men were in shock at the development but the stranger didn't miss a beat. He snatched the mace away from the bartender as the yoma closed in and slammed it into the side of its skull, the head tearing off and flying sent through a window as the body collapsed, screams could be heard from outside at the sudden surprise.

Silence took over the room as the stranger plopped back down in his seat. Everyone stared at him in sock and awe.

"Another."

* * *

><p><em>Earlier, elsewhere nearby…<em>

* * *

><p>A young woman looked at herself in a full length body mirror, she had great pride in her looks. A wavy should-length brunette, with a nice body and curves in all the right places… except one. Her eyes focused on her chest and she put her hands over it. Her breasts were… less than impressive to say the least, and she knew it.<p>

She sighed. "_Why can't I have a bigger bust?_" She looked around her room. It wasn't anything stylish, in fact it was the cheapest thing she could find, and she could barely cover the overhead as it was. She had made the sojourn from her home village over two years ago to try and make a life for herself, needless to say, she was less than successful. Stuck as a waitress in a dingy pub, she had to deal with insults, rudeness and general disrespect ever since she came here. She considered going back to her hometown, but her pride was too great to let her. Plus the journey was perilous, and had become even more so with the threat of bandits and yoma alike. Being a lone woman in the wilds wasn't a smart position to be in. So for now she worked her job, hoping and praying something, _anything,_ would come along and sweep her from the doldrums.

"_If only I could find a wealthy man to latch onto._" She thought, staring herself in the mirror as she dawned her apron. _"Oh well, time for another shift at the pub._"

She walked down the road towards the pub and watched as people went about their business. She had to admit, it was a nice community. Though no one was particularly well off, everyone got by simply doing what they had always done. Whether it was smithing, baking, fishing, or farming, everyone had their niche here. "_Everyone except me._" The girl thought walking down the street, her eyes now glued to the ground.

At twenty-two she had thought about her life, and there wasn't much to say. She was the younger of two children in an unremarkable household. Her sister had stayed in the village and gotten married, by now she probably had children of her own.

She on the other hand craved more. She wanted to see the world, she had said. Didn't want to settle down early just to pop out a few brats and live an uneventful life, but now she was nearly broke with almost no special talents, her cooking and sowing were mediocre at best and she had little aptitude or talent for anything else. Except for one thing.

She reached into the pouch in her apron and produced a notebook, it was meant for taking down long orders, but she had other uses for it. She flipped it open and looked at the drawing of a flower, it was intricate and stylish, showing definite signs of talent. She loved to draw and paint when she could, and even fantasized about being a famous artist. Unfortunately, the arts, especially famous ones, were left to nobles and those with plenty of money to throw around. Still it was an enjoyable pass time, and she was thankful for that at least.

Something caught the waitress' attention, to be specific, a loud crash quickly followed by a plop. She looked down at her feet to see an ugly, smashed grey-green head roll to her feet. "AHHHHHH!" she screamed out in surprise. Everyone turned to see what the commotion was all about as there was a round of other gasps and short screams from around her as she slowly backed away from the head.

An elder man came up to her and held her shoulders, which she was thankful for feeling now as if she was about to faint. "Are you alright miss?" he asked.

The waitress regained her balance and took a few deep breaths, she nodded and the man let go. She looked to see where the head's point of origin was and saw the smashed window it had come out of. The smashed window belonged to the same pub she worked at. She composed herself and walked towards the establishment, curious as to why yoma heads were suddenly flying out windows.

* * *

><p><em>Back inside the pub…<em>

* * *

><p>"Another." The cloaked man demanded.<p>

"Wh-what are you?" The bartender asked, now visibly frightened, as others also began to back away from the man.

"It is unimportant. I have provided you with an expensive service, more than covering what I owe. Now pour me another drink of something strong before I decide to become _really_ unpleasant." He growled.

The bartended pulled himself together, and turned around and pulled a glass off the shelf. Pushing it towards the man. "Here. Now take it and go."

The stranger looked up. "I beg your pardon?"

"I said to take it and go." The bartender repeated, though nervously. "I don't need any trouble like yours, nor does anyone else here. So just take it and go."

The stranger gave a mirthless chuckle. He got up his seat to address the entire building. "And this is how you all feel then? This is how you treat a man who saved your lives? Toss him out of your town, out of fear?" Silence. He nodded once. "Fine." He grabbed the bottle and walked towards the entrance, people parting before him in fright. He took a swig and tossed back his head as he walked through the door. He felt something run into him and looked down to see a young woman. He could hear a few gasps behind him as if they thought he would snap if you so much as looked at him funny. The young woman on the other hand felt differently.

"Watch where you're going, you idiot!" she yelled, getting up and rubbing her slightly sore bum. She looked up to see a muscular stranger, though his face was shrouded by his hood. He observed her for a moment as if considering something, then he walked off. "Yeah that's right, buddy! You don't want any kind of trouble I could give ya." She yelled after him, though he didn't turn around as he disappeared into the crowd.

She walked into the pub and heard many breaths now being released, the whole building seemingly breathing as one. She walked past them and towards the bar, now noticing the headless yoma body. She gasped for a moment then let her own breath go. She turned to the bartender. "So… I miss something?"

The bartender sighed and pointed to two of his men. "Get that out of here." He said pointing to the body. They did as they were told and carried the body out the back door. He turned back to the young waitress. "Just do your job."

"But what was-"

"I said do your job!" he yelled slamming his hand on the table. She simply nodded once and went to fulfill her duties.

* * *

><p>The stranger was slumped in an alleyway, taking another swig, then looking at then looking at the bottle. <em>"I don't know why I thought this would be different." <em>he thought. _"I don't know why I even bother. I probably saved a few dozen or more lives just now, and yet… and yet… the fear still remains."_ He thought eyeing the bottle before him, as if all the answers were at the bottom of its contents. Elijah didn't know why he did much of anything anymore, he wandered from place to place so often, yet their welcome was strikingly similar wherever he went. He was always outcast, like a leaper. He tried killing yoma for the people but most were suspicious that he was one of them in disguise or simply afraid of his power. He didn't even know why he bothered drinking, he couldn't get drunk, was unable to drown his sorrows in booze, yet he still drank giving more of a placebo effect than anything else, though only just.

He heard the sound of clanking armor and looked over to see a snooty, handsome noble youth walking by, followed by three similarly dressed men and an older fat man behind them. Bringing up the rear were three body guards with large battle axes and heavy armor, along with four other less well-armed men. Elijah got up and stumbled over to the edge of the alleyway, listening to the conversation between them.

"Now listen boy." He grumbled. "We are not spending too long in this backwards town, so don't you or your friends go getting attached to any commoner girls like in the last town."

The blonde youth snorted and said in a high pitched voice "You worry far too much father. We won't."

"I mean it now." Said the old man. "We needn't anything to distract us on our way."

"We'll be fine father, you worry too much." The son repeated. With that the two left the old man heading towards the north end of town and the son heading toward the pub he just left.

* * *

><p><em>Later…<em>

* * *

><p>"Where is my booze?" asked one of the young men, sneering at the waitress as she approached.<p>

The six young men had gotten a few tables all in a row, most of the pub had cleared out by now, having seen too much excitement for one day. The waitress approached one of the tables and set down the bottle. "So what took you so long you idiot?" he sneered.

She wanted to slap that half-drunk jeer right off his face. "Please forgive me." She said through her teeth, continuing a strained smile.

The rich son sighed. "I'm bored to death."

"Me too." Another agreed.

"Isn't there anything fun to do around here?" he asked aloud.

The waitress sighed as she walked back over to the bartended. "Jeez what's with the customer's today?"

The bartender gave a weary smile to her. "Now now, Kyrie. Just keep smiling."

"But they're-"

"Careful, that blonde boy is the son of a high noble man in these parts." He advised.

"Check it out." Another one of the boys said whipping out a blade. "Brand new."

"Nice." Another commented.

"Some blade, eh? Can't wait to do a test cut." He eyed an elderly man who glanced over at the boy before looking away. "What are you looking at?" he asked walking over, the man remained silent trying to avoid confrontation. With the tip of his sword he spilled the glass of tea and the old man jumped. Gaining a round of chuckles from the group. "You got him!" another bellowed.

Kyrie saw it and had had enough. "You guys are a bunch of-" she was stopped mid-sentence as the bartender grabbed her and shut her mouth.

* * *

><p><em>Northern part of town…<em>

* * *

><p>A meager man was on his knees bowing his head down. "Oh please sir, if I lose this construction job it will mean the death of my entire family! Oh please sir please!"<p>

The fat noble man held out his hand and motioned the man forward. The meager man came forward as Elijah watched with his usual frown.

The noble looked at the money the man placed in his hand and scoffed. You dare give me this?" he asked, holding out the money.

The meager man backed off and fell to his knees, bowing his head. "Well… I…" he stuttered.

"Your spare change?!" he bellowed throwing the beras at the meager man's feet as he cringed. "You men!" he ordered his guards. "Kill this peasant for me at once!"

Elijah took a step forward but was stopped by another in the crowd. "Don't, you may not like it, but just let it go." He advised. "See those men with the axes? Those are his body guards. They're famous axe fighters, you wouldn't stand a chance."

* * *

><p>The door to the pub opened and closed. Kyrie did her duty and walked up to the man and greeted him. "Good afternoon sir." She said.<p>

He walked by her in silence. Sitting down at a table opposite side of the pub of the entourage. "Bread."

"Bread?"

"Yeah, bread."

"Well, um…" she paused for a sending looking at the man, he looked an awful lot like the man from earlier, yet different. "We only serve _paying_ customers so you'll have to order more than bread. If you're broke go somewhere else."

He held up a finger and motioned her towards himself. She drew near and he whispered into her ear. "Five bottles of booze."

"Huh?"

"Let me drink and I'll take care of those guys over there for you." He said sticking a thumb out at the entourage.

She looked over her shoulder at them then turned back. "Hmm…"

"What is it?" he asked.

"For two bottles." She countered.

His frown deepened. "Are you kidding? I'm not going one bottle lower."

"Hey where's my drink?" the blonde man bellowed.

"Coming." She replied bringing her tray over, on her way she tripped and the drink fell, splashing the man in the face.

"Uh… I'm really sorry." She said

"I don't wanna hear it." He replied. "All I wanna hear, is how you're gonna make it up to me." He paused for a second. "One finger or two?"

"Huh?" she asked before two of the men behind her came up and pushed her to the table, extending her hand out.

"I suppose one ought to be enough." he said as if he considered it a mercy.

The man with the new sword stood up and unsheathed the sword. "Allow me. I've been wanting to give this a test cut." He said lowering the blade near her face. "Now don't move too much or you might lose more than a finger, like your nose, or maybe an ear."

The bartender stood still and motioned for his bouncers to drawn near. He liked Kyrie but didn't want to incur the wrath of a noble.

* * *

><p>"It isn't much, but you know what they say…" the fat man sneered. "Only a few beras to cross the river styx." He said, chuckling to himself.<p>

"You bastard..." The carpenter seethed.

"Move it will you? You're blocking the road." Came the monotone of Elijah.

Is that so?" one of the bodyguards asked, "And who the hell are you?"

"To serve your lord and do his bidding, is that honorable?" he asked them.

"Hmph, of course it is." Another answered.

"Even if that lord is an unimportant piece of shit?" he asked calmly.

The three reached for their weapons. "Say what?" one asked. "You better watch your mouth." Spoke another.

"Cutting down a man who's done nothing wrong, is that what you spent those years honing your skills for?" he asked.

"Why I ougha-!" another growled.

"In my opinion you're worthless." He stated flatly.

"Screw you!" they shouted, drawing their weapons and charging at him.

With three quick slashes he ended them. Sheathing his sword as the bodies fell over. Elijah then looked to the noble who was jaw dropped at the sight. "Wait is it money you want? You can have as much as you want!" he pleaded. Elijah simply turned away, picking up a few of the beras on the ground. "I'll take these." He said putting them inside his clothes.

The carpenter was dumbfounded, but grateful as the cloaked man walked away. The fat noble called out after him. "You-you bastard!" he pointed to Elijah as he walked on. "Somebody stop that man!" he turned around to his remaining guard. "You miserable good for nothing cowards!"

* * *

><p>Kyrie was frightened out of her wits, she was gonna lose a finger. She knew there was only one thing to do. "Twenty bottles of our best!" she shouted.<p>

The entourage exchanged confused glances but the cloaked man drew himself up and began to walk over. 'Well boys, looks like your lives ain't worth jack! No more than a few bottles each."

The man with the sword walked towards the cloaked man 'You're a gutsy guy I'll give you that. Bu if you don't shut your mouth you're gonna piss me off." He sneered at him. "Watch your ass or I'll try out my new sword on you someday."

"Why not right now?" The man brought his blade down but the cloaked man drew his sword with lightning fast speed, cutting off the arm as the limb flopped to the floor, blade still in hand. The man shuddered and fell to the floor, clutching his stub. "Forget the formal stuff. I'll take all you bitches on at once!" He challenged.

The other men moved to get their weapons and came at him. The man bobbed and weaved their blows, thrusting his blade into one's chest before he heard a voice call out. 'Are you some kind of idiot?" came the voice of the rich son. Kyrie had gotten behind the counter, watching in awe and fright. "The young man continued to speak. "My old man's one of the highest nobles in these parts. Fact is you mess with me and you won't live long enough to see the next sunrise. You getting it? You can't just swing your sword at whoever you want and expect whatever you want."

The stranger walked over and scratched the noble son's face with his blade. The son felt a bead of sweat drop form his forehead. "Listen my old man has tree axe-wielding baddasses guarding him around the clock." He continued, his voice shaking. The cloaked man paused at this and the young man sensed it. "Yeah! So you scared yet?" he said a little confidence growing in his voice.

The stranger held out his hand. "Gimme your hand." He ordered. The young man hesitated before he reached out and the cloaked man snatched it. He then turned to the others. "Listen up morons! You guys ain't worth bothering with! You have ten seconds to go and grab these 'badasses'. I'll count with his fingers till you get back. This is one." He said bending back the pinky as it broke like a twig. The young noble screamed in pain. The other men now backing away towards the door. "And two." He broke the ring finger as the noble yelled louder and louder. "And three." The men ran out the door as fast as they could. "And four." He sighed. "This is boring… what the hell. Let's do'em all!"

The young man heard this and said through sobs. "No wait…" The door opened and in stepped a cloaked stranger, the same one from earlier that day. He young man looked at him with some hope. "Are you one of them? One of my father's bodyguards?" he asked.

"I can see you're in the middle of something. Pardon me." He said turning to leave.

"Hey." The other cloaked man asked. "Are you one of them? One of the so-called 'badasses'?"

He drew his sword as the other did as well, the first man gave a high side-slash as Elijah, ducked going for the knees. The man jumped out of the way and bounced off the ceiling. "You got the wrong guy. But don't bother waiting for the guards they're all gone."

"They left?" the other asked.

"I killed all three."

"That's even better!" Said the energetic man as he and Elijah fought, going around the bar. Elijah straightforward efficient moves clashing with the other's more unorthodox, acrobatic fighting style, neither gaining any real advantage over the other. Their fight continued, going up the stairs as the rest of the pub's patrons, including the bartender his boys and Kyrie tried to move out of the way. Then they saw the one-armed man tip over some of the lighting fluid used for torches, with a sick grin he grabbed a match and set the pub on fire. Everyone ran as the fire quickly spread, leaving only the two cloaked men inside.

The energetic man grinned. "I can't imagine a more perfect setting."

"Aren't you going to run?" Elijah asked.

"Nah, but go ahead don't stay on my account!" The clashed again as the building began to collapse.

* * *

><p><em>Later…<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>SPLASH<strong>_

The cloaked man looked up, his clothes now singed. "What in the hell, is going on here?" he asked.

"Don't you remember?" asked a voice next to him. Who he saw was bound tightly by irons and rope. It was night now, and they were far away from where they had been, it looked like the courtyard to a mansion. They were surrounded on all sides by men with armor and weapons.

"I remember a dream… burning and ash filling my lungs and then…" He began. "There was fire all around me."

That wasn't a dream" Elijah corrected.

"Too bad it wasn't a dream." Cut in a fat voice from before that Elijah recognized as the same fat noble from before. "My son burned to death in that fire, and now you're both going to pay for that." He grinned. "Fortunately, I have a few torture devices I use on arrogant little whelps like yourselves. You'll be well taken care of until your execution tomorrow."

The two spent the night in agony as the torture masters worked them over, their bodies and minds being pushed to the limits.

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile…<em>

* * *

><p>Kyrie kicked some of the ashes of the pub she had once worked at, seemingly lost in thought.<p>

"Kyrie…" a strong voice cut in form behind. 'I guess this must be awfully tough for you." The bartender said sympathetically, his hands now carrying the last of what he had in the world, his boys carrying the rest.

"Nah its fine." She replied, kicking apart more of the ash.

You can come with us if you like." He offered.

"Nah. This has forced me to make up my mind." She said with a smile.

The bartender looked at her with some confusion but she simply smiled a knowing smile.

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile…<em>

* * *

><p>The two warriors lay exhausted next to each other. "It's hard to believe isn't it?" Elijah wondered out loud. "I thought you were dead all this time Caesar."<p>

Caesar smiled, their cloaks now gone, looking at each other for the first time in decades. "Life's just funny that way I guess, I thought the same of you."

"Your fighting style is still a mess though, so many inefficient movements."

"You son of a-" Caesar tried to move but found his body too exhausted and his shackles too tight.

"I swear, you are the most undisciplined fighter I've ever known."

"Shut your damn mouth."

"Still you've managed to keep up with me, so you must be worth something."

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile outside the mansion…<em>

* * *

><p>Kyrie had managed to track down where the two from earlier had gone, the next town over was large and wealthy, in the center a large mansion. There were signs all over about a grand execution in the morning.<p>

Kyrie found her way to the side entrance of the mansion where the prison cells were, there was single guard posted. He was ugly with an odd style haircut.

"Please sir!" she pleaded.

"Forget it." The guard said shoving her away. "The prisoners aren't allowed to have any visitors. Can't you bend the rules for a minute? Pretty please?!" she said clasping her hands together.

"No way." He said.

"I'm begging you, I'll do anything!" she pleaded.

The guard raised a brow. "Anything?" he took a step forward and she a step back.

"Well… uh… I…. uh…" she stuttered now regretting her choice of words.

"You mean you'll, you know, have se-" he was stopped short as she took off one of her sandals and shoved it in his face.

"Anything but _that_." She said with annoyance.

The guard huffed. "What is this?! You said anything you lying little bitch!"

"Not with you, baldy! No way!"

"I'm not bald! This is a hair style!" he said grabbing hold of her.

"Let go!" she said, just then a flying squirrel jumped out from a tree nearby and landed on his face, while he was distracted, she placed a well-aimed kick to his neathers and hit him over the head with a nearby rock. She then looked to the small furry creature and smiled. "Thanks for the help, Momo." She said to her small furry companion, who chirped in response.

* * *

><p>Caesar tried to move towards the edge of the cell where the gate was but stopped shot, absolutely exhausted. He then head the sound of footsteps and looked up.<p>

"Wow they put you two through the ringer, huh?" Kyrie said.

"You're that woman…" Caesar mumbled weakly.

"The one from the pub." Elijah finished.

She flashed a smile at the weakened warriors. "Well don't you wanna know why I'm here?"

"No." Caesar said flatly.

Kyrie shrugged. "Okay. See ya."

Caesar reached out with his hand. "Wait, I was kidding."

Kyrie turned around with a sly smile. 'Listen if you do me one little favor, I'll help you escape."

Caesar raised a brow. "Are you serious?"

* * *

><p>"Well?" one of the other guards asked.<p>

"She said she was going to visit the prisoners." The guard form before answered meekly.

"Find her." The head guard ordered.

"Yes sir!"

* * *

><p>Kyrie fiddled with the lock as she used the key she lifted form the guard. "It's not working."<p>

"So what's the deal with this 'favor' of yours?" Caesar asked.

Kyrie paused. "There's someone I want you to find… a swordsman who has four fingers on his right hand."

"Four… fingers?" Caesar asked.

"Over there!" a guard shouted form a distance.

"Hurry up." Elijah warned.

Kyrie continued to struggle until there was a metallic snap. "Oops."

"What is it?" Caesar asked.

"The key broke in half." She said meekly.

"Over there!" Kyrie's eyes widened and she ran off, a dozen guards ran past the cell door after her.

"Stupid girl." Caesar said. "What the hell she'd even come here for anyways?"

* * *

><p><em>The next morning…<em>

* * *

><p>The town was gathered in the square as an announcer stood up on a box. "Now here this! There will be a public execution at sunset today!"<p>

The crowd murmured with a mixture of anxiety and confusion.

Kyrie's covered her mouth as she gasped. _"I've got to do something!"_

* * *

><p><em>Later…<em>

* * *

><p>Elijah and Caesar were lead down the row as people were gathered just outside the mansion to watch, sunset was almost here and the moment of their execution had arrived.<p>

* * *

><p>Kyrie found a nearby farm with plenty of cattle in the pen, she had a plan,<p>

* * *

><p>Elijah and Caesar were set down at the execution blocks.<p>

"You at peace with yourself?" Elijah asked.

Caesar gave a weak smile. "Hell, every freakin' day I have to ask myself, 'Will this day be the day I die.'?"

"Vagrants Elijah and Caesar! You will now be executed and your heads be put on display. Are you ready to apologize? Are you ready to grovel at my feet and beg for forgiveness?" The fat noble asked.

"if living means bowing down to the likes of you bastards, I'd rather die on my feet with my head held high!"

The old man fumed and Elijah chuckled. "Well said… I agree with him." He said simply.

The noble sneered. "Very well then. I'll grant your wish and send you straight to the afterlife!"

With that the two executioners raised their swords, planning on killing them with their very own claymores. Caesar ducked his head and acrobatically knocked the claymore out of his hands as it landed over near Elijah who cut the ropes behind his back, quickly cutting down the guards near him and handing cutting Caesar's ropes. Elijah then tossed Caesar his weapon and the two were back and back.

"We put our fight on hold till we get out of here, agreed?" Caesar asked.

"You intend to kill them all don't you?" Elijah asked seeing the guards around them. "Just try not to use too much of your yoki, we still need to keep a low profile from the Organization."

Caesar smirked. "Don't even think about making it out of here alive!" shouted the noble as the guards began to swarm. Elijah and Caesar cut down guard after guard but there was no end to them. Elijah saw the fat noble and cut his way towards the man. Pinning him up against a tree.

"Wait a minute! Is it money you're after?" the noble asked. Elijah drew nearer, his sword raised. "I'll give you as much as you want."

"May the gods forgive you…" the old man's eyes widened. "Because I won't!" he said slashing the man's throat.

Caesar and Elijah met back in the middle guards still swarming from all around. 'Damn these cockroaches keep coming." Caesar breathed. "And I still feel like shit.'

There was a rumbling form the ground, Elijah looked to the gate and saw there were people staring out, no in at the fighting. "Hey, look."

There was a pillar of smoke heading towards them in the distance they saw a herd of cattle coming towards them, on the lead was a silhouette.

Caesar raised a brow. "Is that…?"

Kyrie waved her hand wildly as she and the heard busted through the entrance, the guards moving out of the way to avoid the reckless stampede. Caesar and Elijah saw their chance and ran out, Kyrie following close behind.

Elijah and Caesar now stood face to face, on a secluded street. Staring each other down as screams could be heard in the distance.

"Okay..." Caesar said drawing his weapon. "It's your turn, now."

"Alright." Elijah said drawing his own weapon.

"Just hold on you two!" a famine voice cut in. Kyrie ran to them. "You guys made me a promise, remember? You haven't forgotten have you?"

"No I haven't, but this comes first." Elijah replied.

"Yeah, first on my list too." Caesar agreed.

"Now wait a minute! A promise is a promise and if you two end up killing each other there won't be anyone left to help me! What good is your promise then?" She sighed, taking out a two sided coin. "We'll decide this by tossing this coin." She said. "If it's heads you fight each other, if it's tails you forget about the fight and you both come with me."

"Gimme that." Caesar said before tossing the coin high into the air. The three watched as the coin was out of sight.

"Think you may have tossed it a little too far?" Kyrie asked.

"He doesn't know the meaning of restraint." Elijah commented.

"Kiss my ass." Replied Caesar.

"Where is it?" she asked. "it should have landed by now but I don't see it." The coin came down on Kyrie's forehead, both Caesar and Elijah looking over to see the result.

"There they are!" came a shout form another side street. Dozens of guards began swarming and heading right towards them.

The two warriors began to turn and run as Kyrie peeled the coin off her head, looking at the result and smiling wide.

"Hey look, I won!"

* * *

><p><strong>So… It occurred to me that much of Eli's life is unaccounted for. Over a century at LEAST in fact. So for the next few chapters we're going to take a step back from Clare, Raki, Helen, Deneve, Miria and everyone else, and we're going to do some completely original story work. Don't take this to mean I'm back permanently though, I just felt a little inspiration and decided to do some writing, who knows when the next one will come around, this chapter is also a little short, and I apologize for that, there will be more meat on the next one though. One last thing, if you're wondering why Elijah and Caesar are so weak now, it's because they are, they've spent over two decades letting their skills atrophy. Anyways, feel free to comment and favorite. Take care.<strong>


	13. Ch 13: Of Love and Hate

**Whew… life huh? It passes us by and we never really notice it until we look back, man how long has it been? Weeks? Months? Hell, feels like I just posted the last chapter, but in reality it has been so long, even the actual manga is coming to a close now and I'm nowhere near the end with this. Still, I persist here and there how I can, especially with Epsilon now wanting me to write more often. Though even with her around I still don't know, I can't even see the end yet. But I digress, another chapter for you patient waiters, whoever's left anyways.**

**I don't own Claymore**

* * *

><p>Chapter 13: Of Love and Hate<p>

Two figures made their way through a crowded town. Their hoods obscuring their identities as they stayed close together. The first was tall and lanky looking as though someone had put a bed sheet over a dying tree, the other was smaller but more imposing then its counterpart.

The pair made their way through the mass, the smaller of the two clinging to the other. Then the smaller stumbled and fell to their knees the taller one quickly rushing to aid.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his inflection showing his concern. The smaller held up one hand and the man relaxed a bit standing to their feet. "Fine… just feeling a little worn out is all." They replied.

He frowned and leaned in close to whisper. "Don't push yourself, if we get noticed the preparations we made will have been for nothing." She reached for his hand and gave a firm squeeze, reassuring him. "Don't worry. I'll be fine, I just need to take some more." She reached into her person and grabbed a bottle producing a small round capsule. She popped it into her mouth and shuddered. The stood up looking into the man's face. "As long as we stick together we'll be fine you'll see." He watched as her silver eyes became a dull blue.

He sighed. "I wish I had your confidence." She pulled back to punch him in the arm, as he flinched for a moment but was pleasantly surprised by a peck on the cheek. "You're always fawning over me. Even though I've said not to."

He shrugged, scratching the back of his head. "Can't help worrying over the woman I love." This time she really did punch him in the arm, he reacted to the light blow, rubbing the wounded area. "Ow! What was that for?"

She gave a quick smile. "Couldn't help myself. You were getting way to clichéd. Now c'mon lover-boy, we gotta find a place to stay for tonight." With that the two disappeared into the crowd towards the nearest inn.

Villages could be found most anywhere on the continent.

Some big, some small.

Some high, some low.

Some hot, some cold.

Yet now… Elijah, Caesar, and Kyrie couldn't find even one.

"Argh!" Kyrie threw her hands up in the air. "I knew we didn't know where we were going!"

Elijah scoffed and crossed his arms. "That's what we get for listening to this idiot over which direction to go." He jabbed a thumb towards Caesar.

"Hey! My method for picking which direction to go has been proven to me time and time again!" he snapped.

"Oh yes, tossing a stick into the air and heading in whichever path is of closest to which way its pointing, clearly a well-researched and proven method."

"You wanna go?!" the mulleted claymore asked as he and his former peer reached for their blades.

Kyrie stepped in between them, holding her hands in both of their faces. "Alright that's enough. You two made me a promise! You haven't forgotten have you? Until we find the four fingered man, you two are not allowed to kill each other."

The two relaxed their grips on their blades and turned to her. "Right the guy with a missing finger I've been meaning to ask you…" Caesar started.

"Who is this "four-fingered man?" Elijah finished.

"Well…"

"Hey wait a minute Elijah don't you have four fingers on one hand?"

"No I've got three on this hand, or are you too unrefined to count as well?"

"Pssht whatever, at least I didn't get my fingers chopped of for some bullshit reason."

"Wait…" Kyrie tried interjecting between their squabble.

"Do you have any other leads?" Elijah asked turning his attention to her as Caesar did the same.

"A picture or something?"

"What makes you think he's even around here?"

Kyrie groaned and threw her hands up. "Ahh! Stop!"

_***GURGLE***_

A low rumble came from Kyrie as she clenched her stomach. "Look let's just find someplace to eat okay?"

* * *

><p><em>Later… at a traveler's rest stop<em>

* * *

><p>Kyrie came out with a small loaf of bread and walked over to where Elijah and Caesar were sitting down. "This was all we could afford until we can make some money." She said setting the loaf down on a table between the three of them.<p>

They each looked down on it, underwhelmed by the little amount of food they could afford.

"So how should we split this?" Kyrie asked.

"Maybe I'll just kill you two and have it all for myself!" Caesar said reaching for the loaf, only for Kyrie to snatch it and hold it over her head. "Hey! What's with you anyways?" she asked as Caesar continued to reach around for the loaf.

A shadow came down and plucked the loaf from the plate, the flapping of wings sounding as the bird made off with their meal.

"Hey come back here!" Kyrie yelled. "That damn thief just jacked my grub!" Caesar shouted.

Elijah remained stoic. "It's called a "Filcher Bird" and now you know why."

"What do you mean? You're telling me that one of those silver-eyed witches is in the next town over?" Elijah turned his gaze to a pair of travelers conversing not far from them.

"Well, I'm not sure. I thought that maybe she was one, but she was gone almost as soon as I saw her, like she didn't want to be seen by anybody. Hell, for all I know it was just a trick of the light."

"Excuse me." Elijah said, walking over to the men as Caesar and Kyrie continued to throw curses at the bird. "Did you say 'Silver eyed witches'? As in the warriors?" Elijah had been in the Organization for a very long time, back when he was a warrior all anyone outside the Organization referred to his kind was "Warrior". But ever since the ranks of the Organization had become a woman's only club, he had heard of the new nickname that had been circling in the past few years, that and "Claymore". It almost made him scoff to see how quickly the original warriors of the land had been forgotten.

"Uh… y-yes." He said.

"So how long ago was this?"

"Two days ago."

"Which way?"

"To the East about a day's walk."

"Thank you." Elijah said, getting up and returning to his companions.

Caesar was still snarling. "Damn I hate birds!" he turned around as Elijah was approaching. "Yeah what is it?"

"We are heading to the East, there's a town there about a day's walk away."

Kyrie interjected. "Look before we go anywhere we got to stop and eat."

Elijah looked to her. "Do you have any money for food?"

Kyrie sighed and dropped her head. "No… But why even bother heading that way?"

"If there's a town, that means people, many people…" Elijah started.

"People who might have seen the four-fingered man…" Caesar finished.

"Lots of people to ask." Kyrie's mind raced for a second and then came to the conclusion Elijah was leading her to. "Which means there's a good chance someone might know!"

"Exactly."

Kyrie jumped up and grabbed the hands of her two bodyguards. "Well c'mon let's go!" she said pulling them along as they stumbled after her.

* * *

><p><em>Hours later…<em>

* * *

><p>Embers from the fire spit out towards the campsite as the three were seated around it. Kyrie was cooking the fish Caesar had managed to catch from a nearby stream.<p>

"We should be there by the next morning." Caesar observed poking a stick absentmindedly into the fire.

"Good." Kyrie said rolling the stick she had used to skewer the fish to roast it. "Maybe we can trade some of the fish for some real food. Or maybe you two can go out and find some odd jobs to do."

"Do we look like handymen to you?" Caesar asked.

"Regardless, once we get to town we must be cautious." Elijah said. "There's a warrior in the town."

Caesar raised a brow while Kyrie gave a look of confusion. "A warrior?" she asked.

"That's gonna be trouble for us Elijah, why didn't you say anything earlier?"

"We have no other choice." Elijah replied his eyes gazing at the flames. "Right now we have no idea where we are or where we're headed. The best thing we could do right now is find somewhere to recuperate, find information, leads, and most needed of all, supplies. Had I mentioned this earlier I thought it might affect your decision to try and go. With that in mind, I decided to not mention the risks until we were almost there anyways."

"Why you underhanded, manipulative bast-!" Caesar started.

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold up." Kyrie interrupted holding up a hand. "Why are you guys concerned if there's warriors around, didn't you guys quit the Organization? They probably have already forgotten about you."

Caesar scoffed while Elijah turned towards her. "First, there is no 'quitting' the Organization, you stay until you die. If you try and leave they send another warrior after you, usually several others depending on the circumstances. Second, they have long standing records of all subjects who have ever been turned into warriors. They never close a file unless they find a body, sometimes not even then. Third, if anyone is found to have yoki and not a current warrior there are long standing orders to eliminate the subject on the assumption of being a suspected yoma."

"The Organization wants none of their property on the loose, if they can help it." Caesar added.

"There was another thing, I head that this warrior doesn't want to be seen." Elijah said.

"Really? That's weird." Caesar replied.

"Why is that?" Kyrie asked.

"As members of the Organization, the warriors don't much care who sees or doesn't see them. To a warrior a job is a job. The opinions of humans aren't our concern." Elijah answered.

"Which means, that if a warrior doesn't want to be seen…" Caesar started.

"They aren't with the Organization." Kyrie finished.

"Right. But even that isn't certain. Every once in a while there's a village who will try and pay for a yoma extermination discreetly because there's a large consent to not get a warrior due to them being, in many people's eyes, just as bad as the yoma plaguing them. So they'll have to take this nasty ass medicine which lowers yoki output and turns our silver eyes to their original color." Caesar explained.

"Which means we have one of two scenarios before us." Elijah concluded. "Either this warrior is trying to hide from people to kill a yoma, or trying to hide from the organization. The former would probably be easier to deal with, since there would only be the one warrior. But in the latter's case there's likely already a few warriors on her trail which means we could be dealing with several of them at once if Caesar or I get discovered."

"Well even if it comes to that it should be fine, I mean you guys are great fighters!"

Elijah and Caesar exchanged looks for a moment and then turned back to her.

"Well in truth…" Elijah began sheepishly scratching the back of his head.

"Elijah and I have spent the last two decades or so attempting to _not_ fight. Mostly through booze, women and fighting, usually a combination of the three." Caesar finished nonchalantly. "We're only good compared to regular humans but that like saying a hawk is a much deadlier hunter than a sparrow. It's obvious to the point where you don't even need to say it." Caesar finished.

"You seem to have really thought this through." Kyrie commented.

Elijah simply gave a small shrug. "It's what was required of me to stay under the radar for over two decades, any action without proper consideration of consequences would have meant the serious trouble for me." He threw a glance to Caesar "Which is why I was so surprised to see that you were still alive, even after being gone for even longer than I had been."

Caesar sneered at him. "Kiss my ass. I've always been great at whatever I do. Don't forget who the higher ranking member was back in the day."

"Wait, did you say two _decades_?"

"I did."

"But that would mean you'd have to be like…" she began to count on her fingers. "Thirty… over forty years old!"

"Fifty actually, well fifty-six in a half-year."

"So there you have it. He's the old geezer and I'm the young, good-looking one, only fifty-one." Caesar beamed, annoying Elijah slightly, the latter doing his best to not show so as to not give the former the satisfaction.

"But… but…?""

"'But'…how? You ask? Simply a byproduct of our yoma blood flowing through our veins." Elijah explained. "Many, ahem, 'candidates' are taken all the time to become warriors, many die in the process, and even more are likely to die within their first few missions. So, as a lucky byproduct of our creation, we are able to live for decades in our prime. It even has the effect of making those not already mature instantly grow into their prime."

"That's amazing." Kyrie said. "So that means even fifty years from now you'll look the same as you do now?"

"More or less." Caesar answered

"At any rate it's getting late and we should rest." Elijah said, going near the fire and with a quick swipe of his blade, blowing it out with a single swing. He then walked over to the side a bit and put his sword in the ground, resting up against it, arms crossed and eyes closed.

Caesar did the same on the opposite side of their little camp as Kyrie laid down on her side and closed her eyes for a few minutes before drifting to sleep.

* * *

><p><em>The next day...<em>

* * *

><p>Kyrie walked until she saw the town in the distance, unremarkable from any of the other towns that dotted the landscape. She looked behind her and made a face at the sluggish pace of her companions. "C'mon guys! What's taking ya?" she called back to them.<p>

"We are _not_ going anywhere dressed like this!" Caesar called back.

"Quit your bitchin' and get over here!" she called.

Caesar and Elijah walked until they reached Kyrie. Caesar now had his uniform cut at the elbows and down the middle exposing his undershirt, making it look like more of a vest. His hair was also cut short and dirtied so that its silvery color now looked closer to a dull grey-brown. Elijah on the other hand now wore a long robe with a hood, his face all but invisible except for his mouth, which had now taken on a strained and weary look.

"Why the hell did you have us dressed up like this?" Caesar inquired with irritation.

"Isn't it obvious? You guys _need _to be disguised!" she answered.

"We spent that last twenty years in hiding without problems so what gives?" he asked back. "C'mon arnt you at least a little mad about this?" he asked Elijah.

"Under normal circumstances I would agree, however we are about to enter a town that is currently being used a hiding place of another warrior. On top of that we know that it's likely that there will be other warriors coming after her, looking for people out of place. With these two things in mind it would be much more wise to try and bland in as much as possible." Elijah answered. "Even so, forcing my body to take on this feeble form is annoying at best and taxing at worst, so let's just do what we came here to do.

Caesar gave a look of annoyance. 'If I didn't know any better I'd almost say you had a hand in this idea of hers." He then looked to Kyrie. 'Besides what about our most noticeable features?" he said pointing to his eyes. "Don't you think this would be a dead giveaway?"

Kyrie shrugged. "Can't really do anything about that, unless you want me to gouge out your eyes."

"Fine whatever. Let's just go." Caesar said shoving his hands into his pockets and walking on as the two flowed behind.

The town was bustling with people as they went about their daily lives after walking inside the perimeter of the town and walking past a few building the three huddled together for a quick moment.

"Alright I'll go over to the marketplace see if I can't find some information." Kyrie said.

"I'll hit the local bar." Caesar said.

"I'll see if I can find out who the leader of this place is, he might know something." Elijah said.

As Elijah began to walk off and Caesar did the same Kyrie grabbed his hand and turned around.

"What is it?" he asked.

"There's something I want to ask." She said looking at the path as Elijah walked on. "Was he always like that?"

"Moody? Broody? Full of attitudy?" Caesar asked. "Nah, there was once a time he was actually a pretty good guy, but then…" he trailed off.

"What?"

"You may not know this but did you know that high ranking claymores get nicknames?"

"Nicknames?"

"Sure." Caesar said "Like mine. 'Caesar the Red Fist' or 'Isley the Silver King'."

"So Elijah had one of those?"

"Yep."

"What does that have to do with-" she started.

"Actually that's not right, not completely." He continued cutting her off. "You see he didn't have just one nickname but two of them."

"Two?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"See he used to be called 'Wide-eye Elijah', because he was very good at 'seeing' things very far away. But then something happened, and his old nickname didn't fit anymore, so they gave him something better."

"What happened?"

"One day, he asked the organization for a job somewhere specific, and when he came back… it was like..."

"Like… what?"

"Like he lost something, he felt hollowed out… empty."

"Empty? How…?"

Caesar held up a hand. "I've said enough about his past, if you want more why don't you ask him yourself?" With that he turned around and walked away. Kyrie paused for a moment before walking down her own path.

* * *

><p><em>Marketplace…<em>

* * *

><p>The town while seemingly typical from the outside actually had a very successful looking marketplace, many shops open or business each trying their own attempts at getting people to come to their place of business.<p>

Kyrie put on hand on her hips and another on her mouth. "Now where should I start?" she thought aloud.

She walked over to a fruit vendor's stand and waiting near the stand her mind now split between finding information and looking at the food. She spotted a young boy cowering near the stand, he was in rags and looked starving. She walked over near the stand and grabbed an apple. She walked over to the boy and knelt down. "Here." She said handing the fruit to him, the boy looked to her and gave a bright smile before running off.

Kyrie smiled to herself for a second before a burly hand grabbed her shoulder from behind, turning her around in a rough manner. "Hey! I saw that!" he said loudly in her face, his breath stinking something awful. "You have to pay for that!"

Kyrie gave a look of confusion and addressed him in an apologetic manner. "I'm sorry?"

"You're SORRY?!" he asked. 'That's my livelihood you just stole!" he grabbed her hand and pulled out a dagger.

"I'll teach you how we treat thieves!" he said raising his hand high.

Kyrie watched in horror as he brought down the blade only to be stopped midway, by a hand. She looked behind her as the hand's owner, a tall cloaked lanky man took the blade from the hand's angry owner and stepped between the two of them, shaking the man's empty palm.

"Thank you, kind sir. I'm so glad you found her." He turned to Kyrie having to look almost directly up, his features long and thin matching the rest of his body, his hair a long brown, his eyes obscured by dark glasses. He looked down at her and pushed her to one side. "I've been looking all over for you." He said wagging a finger in front of her face.

"What are you doing?" she whisper to him.

'Just play along." He whispered back.

The shop owner a large burly fellow addressed the newcomer. "You know this girl?" he asked.

The stranger turned back to the vendor, his features turning to one of exasperation. "Sadly yes, she is my sister. She's a little crazy." He said rotating a finger around near the side of his head.

The man grabbed the cloak of the tall man and pulled him down to his eye level. "Crazy or not, she still stole something!"

"Look at her." He said indicating to Kyrie, the latter taking the cue and beginning to act as confused as she could spinning around wildly her hands in the air and laughing. "Tragic isn't it?" he asked reaching behind himself and grabbing another fruit from the vendor's shop. "But…" he said handing the fruit to the vendor. "No harm done. He walked over to Kyrie and grabbed her shoulders. "Now come along sis, time to see the doctor." He said walking away from the man.

"Oh Hello doctor, how are you?" she said in a sweet tone to a donkey.

"No, no, no, sister dear. Not _that _doctor." The hooded man said leading them away until they were far from the man's sight.

* * *

><p>Caesar grumbled as he made his way through the streets. He had like his clothes just the way they were before, and despite his departure from the Organization, he still had some measure of pride for being a part of it. He looked ahead just then, and then around himself, he realized he had no idea where he was going.<p>

He walked over to a man and asked for directions to the nearest bar. The man pointed across the street where a faded sign was holding a mug signifying the purpose of the building.

Caesar walled nearer and could make out the sign's barely legible letters now. "'_Drunken Huntsman' huh? Sounds like this place was made for me."_ He thought to himself walking in.

Caesar looked around, the place had everything that made a bar great. Alcohol, hot waitresses, a one-eyed bartender that somehow remind him of his father, that puke stain in the corner that had been there for an indeterminate amount of time, and the smell, gods the _smell_, like a heavy fog of liquor, feet and depression,he felt at home here. How could he not? He'd spent a good portion of his last two decades in these kinds of places.

Caesar spotted an open seat at the counter and walked over and sat down. He looked to his left there was a foul smelling figure in a cloak, murmuring incoherently. The one things every professional drinker hated, other drunks. "Give me something strong." He said to the man.

"Sure thing." The man said gruffly.

The bartender poured the drink and slid it down to him. Caesar grabbed it and held it up to his nose. "Ahh…" he sighed and before he could put it to his lips it was gone from his hand as the figure next to him down the drink with one motion.

"Ahh!" the figure sighed with pleasure putting down the drink now looking to Caesar "That was good! You got good taste!" the figured complimented.

Caesar observed the figure for a moment, small and lithe, their hair and a portion of their face hidden by the hood and eyes hidden by a pair of very dark goggles that obscured the sight of her eyes. He then snarled and reeled on her. "Gods damn it! That was mine!"

"Ehh?!" she said looking from him to the glass and back again. "No way."

"The hell you mean 'No way'?!"

"It would have just been wasted on a lightweight like you!" she said giving a goofy grin. She then held up her hand. "Know what? I'll have another one of those."

The bartender nodded and slid the drink down to her only for Caesar to catch it this time and down it in a second. Her goofy grin suddenly turned to an angry snarl. "Bastard! You think you can just steal a woman's drink?!"

"Wug, Wi wawy!" Caesar replied his mouth still having the drink he spit it back into the cup and offered it to her with a grin. "Here!"

"Augh! You pig-bastard!" she said reeling a bit as the drink came near her face. Caesar just shrugged and downed it again, swallowing it this time.

"You started it!"

"What was that?! You wanna make a fight out of this lightweight!?" she said their argument now gaining the attention of the rest of the patrons. She stood up and moved to an empty table pulling up two chairs across from each other. "Then we'll see who can drink who under the table!"

Caesar walked over pulling the chair up with a fervor and a wild smile. "Fine by me! Loser picks up the tab!"

"Damn straight!" she replied. The bartender set down two mugs on the table and they each grabbed their respective handles.

"LET'S GO!"

* * *

><p><em>Near the elder's house…<em>

* * *

><p>Elijah hadn't wasted any time figuring out where to go, almost as soon as he was away from he had went his own way he had asked around for their town's leader. He was directed some ways away down the road until he reached a longhouse distinguishing itself from the rest of the town. Elijah pushed open the pair of large double doors serving as the entrance as he was greeted by a woman behind a desk almost immediately in front of the entrance. The small, but Elijah could see behind the woman a few hallways going to different parts of the building and when listening closely he could hear the indistinct talking of people in the distance.<p>

"Hello." greeted the woman. "Can I help you with something?"

Elijah walked towards he and in a raspy voice said. "Yes. I was wondering if i could speak to your leader."

"On what business?" she asked.

"Excuse me?"

"On what business do you wish to see him?"

"My business is my own."

"Hnn..." she said tapping her desk with slight annoyance. "You'll have to be a little more open about your intentions than that sir. Is he expecting to see you?"

"No."

"Then you'll have to settle for one of his representatives."

"And why is that?"

"The Leader of this town is very busy, it seems clear to me that you aren't from around here." she motioned to the hallway on his left. "If this is about a domestic matter you should head down that hallway and meet with one of the representatives about housing or setting up a place of commerce for yourself." she then motioned to the one on his right. "If you wish to report some sort of crime you should head down that way and talk with one of our town's enforcers." she then motioned directly behind her. "Our Leader is reserved for dire emergencies or scheduled appointments."

"How long is that going to take?" he asked.

"He's in another meeting right now. But if you'd like to wait, i might be able to slip you in, you may take a seat over there." she said pointing to a bench.

Elijah eyed the seat and then looked back at her with a disgruntled look. She returned a look of complete disinterest before he broke the gaze and sat down. "No respect for elders."

* * *

><p><em>Outside the town...<em>

* * *

><p>Three warriors stood looking at town from a hill. The first had short hair, curled tightly into a bun, the second had longer hair that obscured the view of one side of her face, the third's hair was long and tied into a ponytail in the back. All three having the trademarks of the Organization, the armor, the sword, the platinum-blonde hair, and the silver eyes.<p>

The third addressed her companions. "Elva, Greta. I need you two to be on guard, and be discrete."

"That kind of goes without saying doesn't it?" replied the short-haired Greta. "Still, I can't help but feel a little weird about doing this. I mean hunting down our own?"

"There's nothing to be said about it. She deserted, she dies, that's all there is to it." Elva said. "I hope you aren't having any traitorous thoughts."

Greta grabbed the hilt of her sword. "What was that? You wanna fight?"

Elva grabbed her blade as well. "Make the first move. I dare you."

"Knock it off!" the third said. "We have enough to deal with without you two bickering!"

Elva quickly stopped and turned to face her superior. "Forgive me, Serena. I let my emotions get the best of me."

Greta just huffed, crossing her arms and turning her head. "Whatever."

Serena looked at them both with crossed arms. "If you two are quite done we have a job to do." she turned back to the town. "We're hunting a single digit here, this is no time to be careless. I need to know I can count on you two."

Elva nodded obediently. "Understood, commander."

Greta simply shrugged. "Fine, let's just hurry and get this over with."

Meanwhile in the marketplace...

Kyrie and the stranger walked together, she looked up at him with beaming face. "That was amazing."

The stranger scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Heh, it was nothing. Just saw you in trouble and I felt compelled to help."

"Well thanks, I could have been in serious trouble without you." she said

"Ah..." he said waving a hand nonchalantly. "Don't worry about it."

She stuck out her hand. "I'm Kyrie, by the way."

He seemed tentative but grasped it after a little hesitation. "Duran."

"Nice to meet you." Kyrie said doing a little bow. A sudden rustle came from her clothes and out popped a small squirrel. "And this is Momo."

"Hey there." He said greeting the small mammal, who chirped in response.

"Hey as long as you're helping out can I ask something else of you?" she asked.

"Depends." he replied. "What is it?"

"Well you see I'm looking for a certain someone."

"Oh?"

"Yes, you see I'm looking for a man with four fingers."

Duran cupped his chin in thought. "Hmm... four fingers, huh? How strange." He then looked to her. "I don't know anybody like that sorry."

Kyrie sighed, lowering her head in disappointment. "Figures."

He clasped her shoulders and she looked up at him. "But, I'll help you find out if you want."

"Really? But why?"

He simply shrugged. "Dunno. I was just wandering around by myself for a bit before i found you. But now that I've met you, something is telling me that helping you wouldn't be the wrong thing to do."

Kyrie hugged his waist. "Thank you!" she said with a squeal.

Duran rubbed the back of his head sheepishly again. "H-hey... you shouldn't do that I'm already spoken for..."

She let go in a hurry. "N-no… no! It's not like that! I'm just… thankful." she said self-consciously scratching the back of her head in embarrassment.

There was a silence before the man cleared his throat. "Ahem. Anyways, let's see if we can find him eh?"

Kyrie nodded. "Right."

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile...<em>

* * *

><p>Elijah sighed. He eyed the secretary with some annoyance. He considered just leaving or storming in, but the former would gain him nothing and the latter may gain him unwanted attention, which was perhaps right now, even worse than nothing.<p>

He then felt something catch his attention and stirred a bit, now staring intently at the door of the longhouse.

The door creaked open and the sound of clanking metal against wood echoed throughout the room as three warriors stepped from outside. Elijah averted his eyes, making himself look small as they passed him without so much as a glance. He had known his skills had dropped considerably, but he hadn't realized the magnitude until they had almost sneaked up on him. At his peak he could sense for leagues, but now? He was lucky they didn't catch him completely off guard.

The woman also seemed a little put off by their sudden appearance. But tried her best to remain professional as she addressed them. "C-can I help you?" she asked trying to hide her intimidation.

"We're here on behalf of the Organization." The front one said clearly. "It is on the business of the Organization."

"O-of course." She said. Getting out from behind the desk and walking into the room behind. After a minute she came back out, followed by a stout man who hurried quickly out the double doors, keeping a distance from the warriors and brushing up against Elijah for a moment. Not even bothering to try and turn around to apologize he hurried out the door. The woman waived them through and the three passed her without a single glance. The doors shut closed behind them and she returned to her desk. "I'm sorry sir. Urgent business. I'm sure you understand." she asked, only to be met with silence. She looked up and noticed she was now in an empty room. "Sir?"

Outside...

Elijah sneaked around the side of the longhouse and found a window in the back. He crept up to it and to his luck it was cracked open. He peeked around to see the warriors now standing in front of an older balding man. Luckily the window was just behind warriors so they didn't notice him and the Leaders attention was focused solely on those in front of him now.

"What is it?" he asked tentatively. "Why have Claymores come here? We haven't had any yoma attacks. No one sent for one of you, let alone three."

The center warrior pulled out a sealed envelope and handed it to the man. He took it as she spoke. "We are not here for that. We have reason to believe that someone we are seeking is residing here."

"So it's true then." Elijah thought to himself.

"Do you require something of me?" he asked.

"No accommodations are needed. With your cooperation this will be a smooth and simple process." she continued in a very professional manner. "Any damages that are incurred through are actions or inactions will be compensated for."

"That may be a problem if anyone sees Claymores here. It might cause a panic, and trade is-"

She held up her hand. "This is not a request we are making of you, it is simply a courtesy we are extending to you by informing you of our purpose here." He began to speak but she stopped him again. "I must warn you. If you object to our presence here, the Organization will be informed of your lack of cooperation. And then who will come when it is you who requests assistance from us?"

He remained silent for a second and then sighed. "Very well. But could you at least keep your presence and destruction to a minimum?"

"Your request is not beyond us. We will try to keep our business here as concise as possible." she replied. "But as I said, if worse comes to pass you will be compensated for your time, property and cooperation."

The man sighed again. "Then I supposes that's the best I'll get."

"We'll be taking our leave now." She said turning around.

Elijah snuck around to the front of the building as the warriors three left. Making sure to try and keep out of their passive sensing range but still be close enough to observe them.

"So where are we starting?" The short-haired warrior asked her leader.

"We should search around populated areas, if she's in hiding she'll want to use as many people as she can to hide her presence."

The long-haired warrior spoke up. "In that case, might I make a suggestion?"

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile…<em>

* * *

><p>A crowd had gathered around the bar as onlookers came to see the commotion. The sounds of cheering could be heard from inside.<p>

_**CLUNK**_

Went the sound of mugs hitting the table as the two adversaries eyed each other with toothy grins.

"Ha!" said the woman. "I really didn't expect you to be able to keep up with me for this long light-weight!"

Caesar wiped some of the leftover drink from his mouth. "Back at ya, ya half-drunk bitch!"

Her smile disappeared. "'Half-drunk bitch'?! How dare you!" she shouted as the whole bar went silent for a moment. "I am a fully drunk bitch that you very much!" she finished waving her mug in the air as cheers went around.

"No, you are not." cut in an icy voice. The bar now completely silent.

The crowd of people surrounding the table had opened up to the front entrance and now all held their breaths except from the two at the table who eyed the newcomers with annoyance at their arrival. The three warriors stood at the entrance and walked a few feet in. "Get out." the center one ordered. The people obeyed immediately, clearing out of the bar as fast as they could until only the five of them remained, even the bartender not sticking around, hiding himself under the bar.

"Serena, and...?" said the hooded woman, motioning back and forth between the other two.

"Elva, Organization number eighteen."

"Greta, nineteen."

"Right... How nice to see you all."

"You know..." started Serena. "When Elva here suggested that you might be..." she looked around with some disgust. "…here. I was surprised, I thought, there was no way you'd lower yourself to actually come to one of these places. Not one who was once a single-digit warrior but look at you now, the former number seven Wisteria, among the filth and decay."

"And look at you, Serena!" Wisteria replied. "Still jumping and fetching like the trained bitch you are, what's the deal? Are looking to rank up by delivering my head?."

"Ahem." Caesar interrupted. "Not to interrupt this pissing match, but I think I'll just show myself out now." He began to walk towards the entrance only for the three to block his way, now drawing their swords.

"I think not." Serena continued. "You see when I reached out my senses in here I felt not one but two sources of yoki. Hers." she said glancing to Wisteria. "And yours." She pointed the tip right at him. "So, what are you?"

Caesar tipped the sword's point away from him as he spoke. "Why do you ask questions you already know the answer to?"

"Hmph." Serena huffed. "I really can't believe there are still some unawakened warriors wandering around."

"'Some'? As in more than one?"

"Yes, I thought I sensed something very similar to you earlier but almost as soon as I felt it, it disappeared. And now that I've met you I can confirm my suspicions of what I felt." She pointed the sword back at him again, it being now merely inches from his face. "Given your reaction to the news, I can only assume you know whom it is, Caesar the Red-Fist." His expression shifted for a moment at the mention of his old name.

"I suppose I should be flattered." Caesar replied reaching for his own weapon. "But honestly? I don't really care about whatever beef is between you guys. It's not my problem, so don't make me into one of yours."

Serena gave a look of disgust at the both of them. "To see how far even the mightiest of the Organization can fall. It's almost more than I can bear when I see either one of you. When I am done with her, I shall be moving on to you."

"Tch... Why can't I ever drink in peace?" Caesar asked himself aloud. Greta came down upon him with a slash but Caesar masterfully blocked with the edge of his sword knocking it to the side, Elva and Serena ran past them. Elva took the lead, cutting apart the table where Wisteria had been seated moments ago. The latter reappeared in a flash behind her, breaking the mug and jamming its broken shard into Elva's leg.

Serena quickly moved to strike, slashing Wisteria's cloak as she left it behind her, revealing her true form. Lithe and agile, wearing the under armor of Claymores and wearing welding goggles upon her face. She had short platinum hair in the back but in the front her hair came down in two large bangs.

"Well crap, there goes a perfectly good cloak." Wisteria sighed. "Still, I'm surprised? Only three of you? I'm actually a little disappointed, not even a single digit. Unless you thought by taking me down you could take me down, miss eleven?"

Serena thrust her sword at Wisteria, who dodged, countering with a strike of her own, the two went back and forth with increasing speed. Elva appeared behind with a slash to take off Wisteria's head. She ducked as Elva chopped through one of the support beams for the bar, the building shuddered for a moment. Serena took the chance and kicked Wisteria squarely in the chest sending her backwards into a table.

Caesar was having his own trouble with Greta. The two went back and forth with slashes, exchanging minor wounds.

"Not bad. For an obsolete model." she said, taking another slash at Caesar.

"'Obsolete'? I think you mean 'Classic'." he said blocking her blow and countering.

Greta cut him once across the face, giving him a small wound, blood running down his face. "You're behind the times old man, and out of your league. The Organization has long since improved over the first generation of warriors. Because while you've been letting your skills get dull..." she said engaging in another bout of blows with him. "We have gotten strong."

"Heh." Caesar chuckled. He broke he guard and gave her a swift punch to the abdomen knocking the wind out of her. "I'm not ready to retire just yet."

Wisteria got up from the ground wiping a bit of the blood dripping from her mouth. "Not bad. For double digits." she sheathed her sword. "But..." she grabbed two tables. "Not great either." she threw the table at the both of them, the slashed through the furniture. Wisteria used the opening and jumped through a window, smashing it and running for the forest as soon as her feet hit the ground.

"Damn it!" Serena cursed. She glanced at Elva and then over to Greta. "Let's take care of him and then move onto her."

Caesar and Greta locked blades, and Caesar glanced over to the broken window. "Damn..." "Could be trouble with three of them."

Caesar broke the struggle, then quickly cut two more of the support beams. The building started to shake. "See ya." Caesar said, turning to a window and diving out of it, the bar collapsing on top of the warriors. Caesar looked back upon the wreckage. "Doubt that will hold them for long."

Caesar looked towards the forest in the direction of Wisteria's escape. "Time to get some answers." with that he disappeared in a flash.

* * *

><p><em>Elsewhere...<em>

* * *

><p>"Excuse me have you seen a man with four fingers?"<p>

"Sorry no."

'Excuse me ma'am. Have you seen a man missing a finger?"

"No."

Kyrie and the stranger were now together in the market, asking passers-by but getting little success. She sighed. "Ugh... this isn't getting us anywhere."

Duran looked to her, some disappointment visible on his features. "Hey don't give up now, we've only been out here for a little while."

"Yeah, I know." Kyrie scratched the back of her head. "It's just frustrating getting nowhere, if only there was some sort of-"

_**EEECCHT FOOMT-CRASH**_

A large crashing sound came echoing across the town, drawing the attention of all including Kyrie and Duran.

Everyone in the market stopped for a moment frozen in silence at the sudden sound. "-sign?" she finished quietly.

Duran's eyes widened behind his glasses. "That was from-!" he quickly turned to leave, as he began to walk briskly through the crowd, Kyrie noticed his sudden actions and began to follow him. Looking ovr her shoulder from time to time, back towards the commotion.

She had to jog to keep up with his long strides. "Hey! Wait up!" she shouted to him, the crowd around them now beginning to return to normal state of affairs as the shock wore off.

"Sorry I can't!" he shouted back over his shoulder.

"Did you know what that was?!" she called back, losing ground with each step he took.

"My time's up!" he shouted back. "There's somewhere i have to be!" He was fast approaching the threshold of the town where the forest lay beyond.

"Wait!" she shouted.

"It was good to meet you! But i have to go now! I hope you find who you're looking for!" He passed through the gate and reached the forest now running through the brush.

Kyrie finally broke free of the crowd and reached the town's edge staring out into the forest, the figure she was looking for undiscernible from the trees. She turned her head back and forth between the source of the earlier noise and the entrance of the forest. "What should i do now?"

* * *

><p><em>Back at the bar...<em>

* * *

><p>The wreckage of the bar was a sight for all those near its collapse. Some of the people wandered near for a better look. The wreckage shuttered and broke apart as a large wooden beam began to surface from its depths. Greta took the beam and tossed it to the side her two colleagues standing up and brushing themselves off.<p>

"Well, that could have gone better." Greta said with some annoyance, rotating her arm, the limb popping as it healed itself.

"We let our guard down, and underestimated them." Elva added, grabbing a large split of wood from her leg and removing it.

"We've wasted enough time. We need to find them and hunt them down." Serena barked. The other two acknowledged with a nod and began their pursuit.

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile...<em>

* * *

><p>Wisteria crashed through the brush of the wood at a great speed, ignoring the various branches and leaves hitting her face. She felt a presence behind her, gaining on her fast. She jumped and flew through the trees, turning around and drawing her blade.<p>

**CHINK**

The sound of blades interlocking sounded throughout the wood. Wisteria stared streight into Caesar's face as the two continued to fly through the air together.

"Well i certainly didn't expect you to catch up so fast." She said.

"That was pretty cold back there, you know? Leaving me behind to pay the tab, and then making me entertain your friends?" Caesar replied, pushing her blade away from his and finishing the blow, the two of them landed, still facing each other in a small clearing. "I'd say you owe me a little something."

"Oh really?" Wisteria held out her blade in front of herself, getting into a battle stance. "What, exactly, do you think I owe you?"

"Information." At this Wisteria raised an eyebrow, now curious. "You see, I'm, well my traveling... partner, is looking for someone." Caesar said, also getting into a battle stance.

"Whom would that be?"

"A man with four fingers."

Wisteria lowered her guard for a moment. "A man with-" her face turned to one of confusion, then suddenly became fierce. "Who sent you?!" she accused.

"'Sent me'?" Caesar gave the look of confusion this time. "Nobody 'sent me'. I just-" his sentence was interrupted as a blade came dangerously close to his face, managing to dodge before returning Wisteria's blow with his own blade.

"How do you know about him?!" she demanded, her face near his, her eyes now a shining gold. Like two yellow orbs beneath her lenses.

"I told you i just-!" Wisteria push Caesar's blade away and gave him a clean cut across the shoulder. He flinched at the pain, taking a knee and grasping one of his shoulders. Wisteria appeared yards behind him, her blade covered in his blood.

"Alright then." Caesar stood up and turned around to face her as she did the same. The two warriors both began to release their energy, Caesar's wound closing and their bodies' morphing. They disappeared for a moment before the split second silence was broken by the clashing of swords, each striking and countering in a flurry of steel.

Wisteria then broke off from the engagement and shifted her hands slightly, the came at Caesar with a downwards blow. "Too easy." Thought Caesar moved to block it, only for the blade to pass right through his. What?" a single thought passing through his mind before his side above the hip was cut wide. "...?"

She appeared behind him, giving a smirk which combined with her now yoma-like features, was now a menacing, toothy smile. "What's the matter? Couldn't see that one?"

Caesar's wound healed as he turned to face her again. "How...?"

Wisteria dropped to another stance and charged again, thrusting her sword at him. He moved to block again only for the blade to pass through him. A moment passed before his back exploded in crimson, a large gash now adorning it. Caesar dropped to a knee, his regenerative powers now healing him, though slowly. He gritted his teeth, turning around as she flicked her blade, his fresh blood spraying the ground.

Wisteria let her blade rest on her should and put one hand on her hip. "Looks like you're having trouble there, old man."

"You got some moves, I'll give you that." Caesar replied, getting to his feet again. He raised his sword, gripping it with both hands. "Now, let me show you something." Wisteria took notice as his yoki changed, his hands began to glow a feint red, the grip on his blade tightened and soon the claymore too began to glow with a pinkish hue, becoming increasingly darker until it was a bright crimson.

Wisteria took a defensive stance, readying herself for what was coming. "That technique..." She inwards smiled. "No doubt about it, you really are Caesar the Red-Fist aren't you?" He charged forward at her and arced an upward slash, cutting straight through the ground like it was butter. Wisteria barely managed to dodge it feeling heat from the blade as it passed by her face, mere centimeters away.

He didn't let up though continuing his assault as Wisteria dodged and blocked as best she could, not being given time to unleash her own technique. They locked blades with a loud clang and as he punched his blade back towards her. Wisteria could feel the heat of the blade, before with one quick motion he disarmed her, knocking her blade down to her side and getting her on her knees, a large gash adorning her arm, almost cauterized by the blade's own heat.

She looked up in saw as Caesar raised his blade to finish the battle. "You ready to talk now?" he asked smugly.

"Never." she spat back.

"Fine then." he said, gripping his blade tightly for the final swing. "Have it your way!"

_**SPLURT**_

Caesar screamed in pain as his hands exploded in a bloody shower, dropping his blade and stumbling back, cursing loudly. Wisteria, surprised at the sudden event before her but keeping her mind on the battle, capitalized on the opening and quickly grabbed her sword. She ran towards him and with a slash separated Caesar from his right leg.

Caesar fell to the ground, now a bloody mess. "Augh! Bitch!" he cursed loudly gripping his new bloody stump with his equally bloody hands.

Wisteria looked down at Caesar, a small smile revealing her satisfaction at her victory. "Wow. That looks like it hurts a lot." she said, smugness seeping into her words. "Too bad about your luck, 'Red-Hand'." She then turned to look back in the direction of the town. "Looks like my 'friends' will be here any minute. Be sure to tell them i said, 'Hello.'." with that she disappeared.

Caesar gritted his teeth at the pain as he too felt the warriors quickly approaching. He looked down at his stump and all the blood on the ground.

"Shit, what am I gonna do?"

* * *

><p>The warriors three had quickly recovered and continued their pursuit of the two renegade warriors.<p>

Elva, the best sensor of the three of them spoke up to her commander as they continued their pursuit. "Sarema, the battle's over."

"Can you tell who won?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I can't say."

Greta spoke up. "Let's hurry then before they get away!"

The three arrived at the small clearing. "What the-?" Greta said as soon as she arrived. There were small pools of blood all over the ground, along with a rather large spot right near the center. Streaks lead out in five different directions from the pool, all indicating that they were the path leading to their quarry.

"Damn, which way?" Greta asked, itching for payback.

Sarema looked at the pool and then at the paths, finally she looked to Elva. 'Sense anything?"

The later shook her head. "Sorry, I can't sense anyone in the area anymore."

Sarema gave a look of dissatisfaction at all around her. "We underestimated them and they got the jump on us, not only that but we also let them slip through our fingers." she turned to the two of them. "We're going to need help for this one."

Greta and Elva looked at each other for a moment then back to their leader. "That could take a while, they might be gone by then." Great pointed out.

"Normally that would be the case, but we were actually supposed to be a team of five." she explained. "I told them we'd be enough." She gave them each a look of seriousness. "But things have changed. He said they'd be in the area for a day in case we ran into any... complications."

"I'd say this constitutes as a 'complication'." Greta said sheathing her claymore.

"Shouldn't we go after them?" Elva suggested.

"We have no idea where they are now, and one of the two surpasses you in yoki sensing, Elva." Sarema said. "Let's hurry to meet them. This way." With that the three ran off in another direction and the clearing was quiet again.

Elijah appeared a few minutes later. He looked off in the direction they ran. "Hmm... seems they ran off." He walked over to the pool of blood, crouching down then looking at the blood trails. Elijah then stood up and turned around walking out of the clearing about forty meters into the forest.

"Right about here." He thought before he walked over to a bush and removed a leg. He then walked over to a nearby tree, he winded up a kick and let loose, kicking it and sharing the tree greatly. A moment later a crashing came from above Elijah, the snapping of branches and cursing came from above him as he stepped back a foot and watched as Caesar landed unceremoniously on his back.

"Fucking hell, Elijah!" Caesar spat, fresh blood still formed on his lips, running down from his mouth to his chin.

Elijah held up the limb in his hand. "You looking half dead on the ground, this brings back memories. Lose something?" He looked back at the clearing. "Not bad, using your limb to create that pool of blood and the blood trails. Although..." he said looking at it now. "It appears to be quite drained now, and dirty." he tossed it over to Caesar who now sat up on his hands with a frown.

"How'd... you know... where I was?" he asked slowly, each word coming out as an effort.

"It wasn't a bad plan, with the trails of blood and all. But by making so many paths you made it obvious that none of them were the correct one to take. On top of that when I came over here to check that theory I noticed that ground had feint traces of blood, much fresher than the pool or the trails." he explained. He then took notice of Caesar state with nary an expression on his face. "Seems like you bit off more than you could chew... how like you."

"Kiss... my... ass..." he said falling again on his back.

"You've lost a lot of blood." Elijah said bending down and moving the leg into its former place. "I doubt you could even heal this much without some help." Elijah looked over to Caesar's hands and picked them off the ground, the later could barely resist as Elijah examined them. Red, sinewy and still dripping with blood, his hands looked as though the skin had just been forcibly blown off from the inside, leaving only his muscle and bone underneath. "You used it. Didn't you?" Caesar was silent as Elijah sighed. 'You could barely handle it back then, in your prime. Did you really expect to be able to use that without any consequences?"

Caesar attempted to get up again only for Elijah to push him back down to the ground. "What... gives?" he huffed.

"Don't move." Elijah stated simply still looking over his hands and leg. Elijah put the hand down, pressing his palms to Caesar's abdomen and closing his eyes.

'What are you-?"

"Be quiet. I'm trying to concentrate." he snapped.

Caesar was about to say something else but felt a tingling sensation wash over his body. He felt some strength return to him as his wounds began to heal, new skin covering his hands and the muscle and bone fibers of his leg mending back together. "You offensive types, always putting yourself at needless risk." Elijah mumbled almost to himself more than at Caesar, though the latter heard anyway.

Elijah continued this process for about ten minutes before he stopped. Caesar felt the tingling go away, replaced with slight throbbing at the site of his most serious wounds which now looked to be bruises at best. Caesar found the strength to move again, getting up on two feet and walking around for a few moments testing his leg's strength. He then turned to Elijah. "Don't expect a 'thank you', it's not like i asked you to do this."

"Then don't." Elijah replied. "It's not something that needs to be thanked for, it was just something that needed to be done."

"Alright then, we need to go after her."

"'Her'?" Elijah asked. "You mean the renegade? We'd be better off just letting things take their course."

"She knows something. Something about that four-fingered guy we're looking for."

"Oh? How do you know?"

"I asked her, before she attacked me."

"Seems she gave a pretty clear answer to your question when she almost killed you."

"That's my point." he said. "Think about it. It must be something important if she tried to attack me just by mentioning it."

"Perhaps. Or perhaps she just thought it prudent to try and kill you since you followed her."

"This is the first real lead on this guy we've gotten, ever! Are you really gonna take the chance to let it get away?"

"Why are you so concerned? It's Kyrie's problem not ours."

"Well who do you think she'll blame if we come back to tell her that we had a real lead, but decided against it? Who do you think she'll give an earful about?" Elijah imagined the young girl with some chagrin as he imagined yet another yelling session at her hands. Caesar walked closer. "As long as she's on our case you and i can't go our separate ways. So why don't we do what we can to find this guy, pay off our 'debt' and get on with our lives?"

Elijah was silent for a moment considering the options. On one hand Caesar was right, as long as the girl held their debt over their heads they were bound to her. Elijah, despite his long wanderings, still had some sense of honor. At the very least the Organization had taught him that, though Caesar never struck him as one to care for that sort of thing. On the other there was a chance that he could fulfill that debt much quicker. Elijah never had high opinions of Caesar's intelligence, crude as he was, but this was actually thought through. "We should tell her then and head back to the village."

"We'd lose... uh... Wis... Wis... Something." Caesar said trying to remember the name.

Elijah raised a brow. "Wisteria?"

"That was it."

"I see, no wonder you had such trouble."

"What do you mean?"

"Unlike you, I still kept my ear to the ground about the Organization. I tell you what I know on the way."

"On the way?" Caesar asked.

"Yes, I sense her growing farther away from us in that direction." Elijah said pointing. "We'll need to pursue her slowly though, those other three are moving farther away, but are still in the area." He then looked at Caesar's freshly healed limb, and hands. "It will also give you time to heal up some more before we confront her."

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile...<em>

* * *

><p>The warriors three approached the edge of the forest, near a cliff side overlooking a valley. Standing there was a warrior with her back turned towards them, she had pale, medium-length hair that was rather messy and unruly. She had silver eyes and wore the standard Claymore uniform.. "So, i guess you need our help after all eh?" she stated not turning towards them as they approached her.<p>

Serena spoke. "Yes, things have gotten... complicated."

"Heh, I'm sure." she replied, turning towards them, revealing her lack of peripheral vision. "The day's almost out and my partner hasn't returned yet, so why don't we rest for the night and all start the hunt first thing in the morning?"

"But they could be gone by then!" Greta spoke up.

Serena gave a look of admonition to the lower ranking warrior. 'I'm sorry Neideen, forgive her rudeness."

She waved it off. "Don't be. She brings up a good point." turning to Greta. "It won't matter, no matter how far they go, my partner and I know how to sniff em out. Besides I'd like to hear what's happened so far. As soon as..." Neideen stopped short and gave a small smile. "Well, well speak of the devil. I was just talking about you Roxanne." she smiled as the other warrior approached the four.

"Sorry." Roxanne apologized, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. A warrior with silvery long hair, pulled back into pony tails on either side of her head, curly as anything. She too had an eye patch. "Something held me up." she gave a wide smile. "How can I help?"

* * *

><p><em>Later...<em>

* * *

><p>Duran ran thought the woods at a pace. He was working from memory on where his destination was and didn't want to get sidetracked.<p>

He ran until he saw what he was looking for, three distinct slashes in a tree, the center. "Should be... here." he came through the underbrush and found what he was looking for. Just beyond the brush was an inlet in the land where a campsite was set up. Small stones set up in the center for fire building, a few logs to sit on, and a small blanket made into a makeshift tent.

He walked over to it, setting the firewood in place as the sun's light had almost completely vanished, with a spark of tinder, the flame started, small at first but quickly growing. He heard some rustling from the bushes behind him and looked to see Wisteria stumbling out. "Wis!" He dropped the wood and ran over to her gripping her shoulders, he noticed she was clutching her sword arm and looked down on it. It looked like a large cut had been given and then it was immediately cauterized over it, making the skin look like a gnarled root. "What happened?"

"It was nothing." she said turning away from him but he kept his grip on her firm.

"Wis..."

She was silent for a moment, then turned to him, taking off her goggles, her silvery eyes flickering with his amber ones against the fire. She sighed, looking downwardly. "We've been found."

Duran stiffened at this, than relaxed a bit, though still tense. "I thought that might be the case. That's why I ran back here. After that building collapsed I could only assume it was related to... the Organization. Still I thought we'd be far enough west they wouldn't bother us much. Are you sure that it was them?"

"I think I'd know my own kind." she said. "Although..."

"'Although...' what?"

"There was someone else."

"Someone else? Who?"

"A former Organization member."

"... So what does that mean for us?"

"I don't know." she admitted.

"If she's on the run like us-"

"He..." she said. "It's a male."

"Male? That's impossible, they're all either dead or... worse."

"Well he was definitely alive. In fact he was once a great warrior." she said. "But he was so much weaker than I thought he'd be. I can only imagine he must have been in hiding for a long time and let his skills diminish."

She drew he sword placing the tip over the wound, with a slash she reopened the wound. She gritted her teeth at this before her regenerative powers took over, her wound now more closely resembling normal human skin. She looked at her sword and grimaced, there were now notches in the blade where none should have been. "That technique was no joke." She then turned her attention back to Duran. "So how was your day?"

Duran sighed, sitting down on the ground. "Just fine. Until a few hours ago when I found out the plans I had so carefully lain were smashed before my eyes. This was supposed to have lasted us years. It's been only a few short months and we've already been found."

"Could someone have betrayed us?"

"I don't know." he said. "I wanna believe that we put our faith in the right people but... it's like everything that could go wrong, has. I mean there's the warriors, that male warrior, that girl-"

"Wait." Wisteria interrupted. "Backup. What girl?"

He raised his hands. "Whoa, whoa. Don't worry nothing happened. She was just some girl i met, well kinda saved, but she was just someone who wanted to find a guy."

"Was she about this tall, brown hair, round face?" she asked raising her hand.

"Yeah that sounds about right, did you meet her too?"

"No she's standing behind that tree over there." Wisteria pointed to a large oak some feet away.

Duran turned to look and after a few moments Kyrie came out from behind the tree, walking slowly towards them until she stood in front of them.

"So... when did you notice me?" She asked.

"About as soon as i arrived." Wisteria replied.

Duran walked over to her, now towering over her, a mixture of confusion and anger at her presence. "Why did you follow me?"

"You were the only one who would help. I couldn't just let my only lead get away."

"'Lead'?" Wisteria asked. "Lead to what?"

Duran turned to her. "She was asking me to help her located a man with four fingers."

Wisteria turned suddenly to Kyrie. "'Four fingered man'? Who are you?" she walked towards her with menace only for Duran to step in between them.

"Out of the way, Duran." she said looking up at him.

"Not until you calm down."

"Why are you defending her? You don't even know her! She could be with the Organization for all we know!"

"Look, I just have a feeling all right?" he said. 'She doesn't seem like a bad person."

"What so I'm just supposed to trust your intuition?"

"It's what told me to take a chance on you." he replied.

Wisteria pouted at this. "That's not fair, damn it."

He clasped her shoulders. "Trust me?"

She paused for a moment then sighed. Turning her back on them both. 'Do as you like."

He turned back to Kyrie. "Sorry about her. She can be a little... temperamental.

"So I see." Kyrie replied. "I think she knows about the four fingered man, though."

"I know, but I wouldn't bring it up before she does."

"I can still hear you guys, you know." Wisteria called from her seated position in front of the fire.

Kyrie walked over and sat down in another place in front of the fire. Wisteria had picked up a stick and was absent mindedly poking at the fire, Duran had walked over and with some hesitation sat down next to her. "What is your interest in this four fingered man?"

"That's personal." Kyrie replied.

"Ha!" Wisteria mocked. "'Personal'? You expect me to tell you anything when you won't tell me anything?"

"I can't tell you why I need to find him, just that I do!"

"Alright, how about this. What are your intentions for this man when you find him?"

"I can't tell you that either."

"Can't tell me why you want him or what you will do once you find him." Wisteria looked at her, her expression now completely blank. "Give me just one good reason to share anything with you when you won't share anything with me."

Kyrie thought for a moment but then looked to Wisteria, her expression apologetic. "I have none."

She and Wisteria looked eyes for a moment, the warrior studied the girl before Duran interrupted them. "Hey, we're all a little tired and everything so why don't we all just relax?"

Wisteria sighed, then looked at Kyrie again, her expression now one of exasperation. "Alright, let's forget about the four fingered man for one second. What about you? What's your story?"

"Mine?" she asked. "Well... i came from a family, not big, not small. I had a father, mother and sister. I left them some time ago to try and make my own way in another village..." she paused. "Then i got news something happened, something bad, to my family. Now i want to find the four fingered man."

"Can I assume correctly that the four fingered man is at the center of this bad something?"

"Yes."

"But you still won't give me specifics?"

"Sorry I can't, it's too pers-"

"'Too personal' yeah I got that bit." Wisteria said, impatience strained through her voice.

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"What's your story?"

"There is no story." she said.

"Yeah, I'm sure you're just like every other warrior and human who've fallen in love with each other." Kyrie said.

"'In love'? Ha!" Wisteria laughed, elbowing Duran in his side. "I'm just using him for his body."

Duran turned bright red. "Wis! Don't say something like that." he said, flustered.

Wisteria gave a toothy grin. "You are too cute when you get all flustered." She pinched one of his cheeks.

"Ah! Let go of my cheek!" he said.

She let go. "You're always such a stick in the mud. Good thing you're so handsome. Next time i pinch a cheek it won't be your face." she said a little quitter into his ear, turning him even redder.

"If you two are finished..." she began, interrupting. "You still haven't given me an answer."

Wisteria, gave a look, half smile half frown. "You really interested." Kyrie nodded. "Alright, well i used to be an Organization member."

"And i was one of the couriers for the Organization." Duran spoke up, his complexion returning to normal.

"He was in charge of giving me jobs and I was responsible for executing them." Wisteria continued.

"I worked with her for a little over a year when I realized I was beginning to fall for her." Duran said.

"Then this idiot comes up to me one day after a job and tell me we can't see each other anymore." Wisteria said, continuing their back and forth explanation. "And I ask him why."

"At first, I don't give her a straight answer, I tell her that the Organization has deemed it best to switch me to be someone else's retainer." he paused smiling. "She saw right through that."

"I press him until he tells me the truth." Wisteria continued. "At first I don't know what to think. But after I processed what he was telling me I realized something." She turned her face to Duran and he to hers. "I... I had fallen for him too. He showed me a life outside of living and dying for the Organization. A life together, away from it all, so we left."

Kyrie continued to listen intently to the story. "The Organization must not have approved of that."

Wisteria turned back to her. "Damn right they didn't."

"I used my knowledge of the Organization, and had it set up so that she and I could escape to one of the least visited villages I could find. A village that didn't like claymores due to their trade. I thought we could be safe for a while."

"Then we had to come out here to our emergency hide-away until things died down; after you and your bum-chum warrior turned up and everything went to Hell." Wisteria finished, now giving Kyrie a glare.

"Who?"

"That mulleted idiot who wanted to know about the four-fingered man. It must have been you two who led them to us."

"How did you know he was with me?"

"You wanted to know about that man, so did he. Not a stretch to make that connection. Plus he said he wanted to know because one of his 'companions' was interested, which I can only assume is you."

Kyrie's sighed. "Yes, he's with me. But I swear we didn't lead anyone to you guys!" she said.

"Yeah, right."

"No, I mean yes we came to find you, but not to lead the Organization to you guys."

"And why find me?"

"We thought that you might have information, being a renegade that could only mean that you were either very good at hiding or someone was helping you."

"Well in this case it's a little of both." Duran said, Wisteria nudged him. "What?"

"So someone else was helping you?"

"No, that was a mistake. Right?" she asked grabbing Duran's ear.

"Yes, yes, yes, okay." Duran said, she let go and he began rubbing his ear.

"We got this far all on Duran's preparations and our wits." she paused. "But now it's over. We've got to move before more come after us."

"What about you?" Wisteria asked. "You're lucky i don't kill you after all the trouble you've caused."

"Yeah it'd probably save us some time if that happened." a voice cut in. Wisteria moved from her seated position in a flash as her seat exploded in a flurry of splinters, Caesar quickly moved to follow up as Wisteria grabbed her sword, Elijah right behind him.

Caesar was about to follow up with another strike until Kyrie stood between them, arms outstretched. "Stop!" she barked.

Caesar and Elijah stopped and looked at each other then back to her. "Wha da ya mean 'stop'? This bitch almost killed me and then tried to leave me for those Organization bitches to save her own hide!" Caesar growled.

"I said stop, Caesar, don't make me ask you again." Kyrie said sternly

"You ain't my god damn boss! And she owes me blood!" Caesar shouted.

"Yes I am! You promised to listen to me!" Kyrie said.

"I promised to _help_ you, not be your beck-and-call bodyguard." Caesar corrected.

"Same difference!"

"No, it's not!"

"Why do you protect her?" Elijah asked interrupting them.

"Because she just wants to be happy with the one she loves. She doesn't deserve to have someone try and take that away from her."

Elijah, Caesar and Wisteria all stopped at this looking at Kyrie for a long time, Duran nudged her and she sighed. She then let go of her blade handle and walked closer to Caesar. "Sorry if i hurt you." she said sounding much akin to a small child being forced to apologize.

Kyrie nudged Caesar who made a face at her but forced himself to step forward. "Yeah, fine. I'm sorry, whatever."

Kyrie clasped her hands together with a smile. "There! Doesn't everyone feel better now?" Caesar and Wisteria both mumbled something under their breaths but nodded.

"Now that that's settled... ahhhh." Kyrie yawned. "It's getting late why don't we get some sleep and start fresh in the morning?"

"Hold on a minute. Who said-" Wisteria began only for Duran to nudge her. "I mean, we'd be happy to have you guys." she said, forcing a smile upon her lips. "But for tonight, you two can sleep over there with your blades. Duran you can find a nice soft patch of dirt to lay in, the girls get to have the tent."

"'Girls' right, old hag." Caesar said under his breath.

"What was that?" Wisteria asked.

"Nothing."

Caesar and Elijah began to walk away before she grabbed Elijah's shoulder. "It was you who tracked me wasn't it?" he said nothing. "You don't have to say anything. I know it was you, that idiot has no talent for controlling his powers so acutely. Not like you, 'Elijah of the Empty Heart'." he remained silent. "I don't know how this girl roped the two of you in together, but just know something. She trusts you, both of you. Don't abuse that."

"What makes you think I would?" he asked.

"Because, I know of your reputation. Colder and more ruthless than any warrior, and i can tell you're still like that even now."

"What is it to you?"

"Look just remember she's counting on you, okay?"

Elijah removed her hand as he walked away. "I always honor my promises."

* * *

><p><em>The next day...<em>

* * *

><p>Wisteria woke up and immediately went to try and cook breakfast, she didn't eat much but she knew Duran did and it made her feel like more of a wife to him. She skinned the two hare she had caught some days before and started to cook them over a small cooking fire. The smell hit the noses of all in the camp as they woke up one by one.<p>

"Something smells good." Caesar observed.

"Indeed." Elijah agreed.

"You two can eat dirt for all i care." Wisteria said, turning the food away from them and going over to the two humans. "Here you guys can have some." she held out a stick to each one of them, who each took with thanks.

Caesar was about to say something but Elijah put his hand on his shoulder, shaking his head. "Whatever I'm going to get some water to drink from the stream, don't wait up." Caesar brushed off Elijah's hand and walked off into the brush.

"Can you go make sure he's alright?" she asked.

"Do I look like a damn babysitter?"

"Elijah, please?" He looked to her with a frown and then glanced over to Wisteria who shot him a look.

"Fine, I'll go to him."

Caesar was knelt down before the stream in front of him. He looked listlessly at his own reflection, blurred and out of focus by the movement of the water. He dipped his hands in and splashed his face, he paused and the wiped his face, not turning around. "What do you want Elijah?"

"She told me to come check on you." Elijah said.

"Which 'she'?" he asked. "Ah, doesn't matter, they're both a pain." Caesar stood up and faced Elijah. "Why are we even here Elijah?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why are we here?" he asked again. "Why are we following this girl? She won't tell us anything about who we're looking for and barely knows where we're going. So I ask you again, why are we here?"

"We owe her our lives"

"We don't owe her shit!" Caesar shouted. "We could have gotten out of that all on our own! We could leave anytime we wanted! So tell me, what are we here for?!"

"Because we have honor, we made a promise to her." Elijah replied, neither his volume nor inflection changing as he spoke.

"Screw your 'honor', screw the promise and you know what? Screw you too!" he said. "I was doing just fine before I met you guys, I'll do just fine when I leave."

"You don't mean that, you're just feeling frustrated. Stop acting like such a-" Elijah started then stopped, his expression turning serious.

Caesar got up right into Elijah's face, the latter didn't move or give any sign of reaction. "Such a what?" he asked.

Elijah raised a hand and put a finger to his lips. "Shhh..." he gestured with a small head jerk away from them across the stream.

Caesar nodded slowly. Quickly the leaped away from each other and then drew their claymores. "I can feel you over their!" Elijah shouted towards the brush on the other side of the stream. "Show yourselves!"

The three warriors appeared on the bank of the stream. Serena spoke. "Very good, 'Elijah of the Empty Heart', seems that not all of your prowess is gone."

"It has been many years since I had the right to call myself that." Elijah replied.

"Rightly so." Serena agreed. "Since you both were high ranking members of the Organization i'll give you one chance. Surrender now."

"And what you'll spare us?" Caesar asked incredulously.

"No, you'll still die." Greta said. "Just faster."

"Pass."

"Well, that's a pity." Serena said. "But it's not like you really had a choice to begin with. Greta? Elva? Take them out."

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile...<em>

* * *

><p>Duran and Kyrie munched on their rabbit sticks quietly. After Caesar had stormed off an uneasy silence had taken hold. Wisteria suddenly stood up, two warriors now stood across from them, the embers of the former fire being the only thing separating them.<p>

"Wisteria, nice to see you again." Neideen addressed.

"Neideen." Wisteria addressed. "I hear you've gotten promoted from number nine since my... resignation."

She shrugged. "Well, I'd like to say that's true. But unfortunately as long as you're still around no one can move up."

"Is that what this is about? What it's really about? Being promoted? Being the number one warrior?"

Neideen scoffed. "Please. Like I give a rat's ass about that. No, I'm here, I asked to be here, because i thought you could be convinced to come back to us."

"That can never happen." Wisteria replied. "I've seen too much of the Organization's secrets, too many lies have been exposed to me. Believe me Neideen, if you, if _any _of the other warriors knew even half of what I now know... they'd join me in a heartbeat. So would you."

"That's not what I heard. I heard you left because of..." she turned her only eye to gaze at Duran. "…fraternization with a low ranking Organization member. Him, I take it?" she said jeering a thumb in his direction.

"No, he was just the final push I needed to leave."

Neideen took a step. "Please, I know what you make think of the Organization, and yes it may not be the greatest life. But isn't it better than being hunted down, being branded a traitor?"

Wisteria sighed giving a weary smile. "Oh Neideen, you always were kinder then you'd let on. But I think we're past the point of no return now."

"Heh, you may be right about that." Neideen replied.

Wisteria looked to the other warrior now. "And what about you? I wasn't aware Neideen had a doppelganger."

Roxanne gave a little bow. "It's very nice to meet you Wisteria. I am Roxanne twelfth rank in the Organization."

"Ha!" Wisteria scoffed. "Manners, always in the last place you look, like stockings. So what's your take on all of this?"

"I have no 'take' on anything. You are a threat that must be eliminated. There are no hard feelings though." Roxanne replied. "It's just another job."

"Oh, so professional, definitely a keeper Neideen." Wisteria said, a half smirk on her face.

"Well, anyways. Let's get away from here. I'd rather not involve them." She said jeering her thumb at her human companions.

"Last request, huh?" Neideen asked. "Fine, I don't see why not."

Duran tried to run to Wisteria as she turned to look at him, Kyrie stood nearby, still shocked at the sudden events. "Wisteria!" he shouted.

She gave a small smile to him and closed her eyes. "Duran… thank you." With that she and the other warriors disappeared.

Duran whirled around, looking for any sign of their heading. "WISTERIA!" he shouted.

Kyrie rushed to console him, only for him to brush her off. "Hey, you'd only get in her way as you are!" she said.

"I don't care! I need to be by her side!" he bellowed, taking notice of a few lines of broken tree branches he quickly ran in that direction, Kyrie followed after him. "Wait, it's dangerous!"

"I don't care! The woman I love is fighting for her life!"

"But you could die!"

"If it's for her sake! I'd die a hundred times!" he shouted back as he ran off, Kyrie barely keeping pace.

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile…<em>

* * *

><p>The three fought in quick synchronous movements Greta was on Caesar and Elva took Elijah, Serena moved back and forth between reinforcing Elva and Greta and it was starting to push back the two males with increasing effectiveness.<p>

Caesar ducked as Greta's strong swing nearly missed his head and moved to counter only for Serena to block it, allowing Greta an opening as she brought down her claymore on Caesar who managed to sidestep just in time, the blade splitting the earth as it made contact. Elijah wasn't doing much better as Elva kept up with a flurry of light but very swift blade movements. Every time Elijah saw an opening between blows Serena would step in and join, allowing Elva to recover before beginning her next flurry.

Caesar gritted his teeth, Greta's mighty blows almost knocking the sword out of his hands. He suddenly backed off as he readied a plan, he gripped the sword with only his right hand, holding out the blade in a fencing position and holding his left behind his back. Greta wasted no time as she pushed forward with a mighty thrust, Caesar parried and let the blade slip by him using the wide end of his blade. He then raised his sword for a strike, only fr Serena to step in. He smirked though, twisting around and reaching for Serena's sword arm with his left hand, which now glowed with a pink hue. As he gripped it suddenly Serena's arm lit up and then exploded outwards, she let out a scream as she backed off. Greta wasted no time and used the opportunity to give Caesar a slash across his back. Caesar whirled on her with a snarl, grabbing her collar and head-butting her, she staggered back gripping her broken, bloodied nose. He stepped in using the wide end of his blade and struck her at the base of the skull, she fell to her knees as unconsciousness took her.

Elva, now unsupported by Serena, lost ground as Elijah began to pick her swift defense apart. Elijah let her blade pass by him as she attempted a trust and grabbed her wrist twisting it until it broke, she let go of the blade and fell to her knees before Elijah came at her with his blade, as he was about to land the finish blow on her, Caesar stepped in with his own blade.

Elijah eyed Caesar with contempt. "What are you doing?"

"That's my line!" he growled.

"These are our enemies." Elijah stated simply. "They are a threat that must be eliminated."

"They're fellow warriors."

"We are not with them anymore. They are but puppets on the Organization's strings."

"We were once too, not long ago, or have you finally lost that honor you were going on about?" Caesar reminded. A flicker went past Elijah's eyes before he broke the blade lock, walking around to Elva who was still on the ground and with a swift chop to the neck knocked her unconscious.

"This will come back to bite us, I can promise you that." Elijah stated.

Serena, now recovered enough to fight, eyed her two unconscious companions. She tried to pick up her blade only for Elijah's sword to appear over her shoulder as she knelt down to pick it up. "Don't." he said.

She gritted her teeth. "How? How can we be so inferior to you?"

"You were not, you fought with much skill, you should be proud." With that Elijah struck her and she felt darkness grip her.

"Elijah then walked over to Caesar. "You should not have used that again so soon." he said eyeing Caesar's left hand, now even bloodier than before.

Caesar eyed the limb with one hand. "Stings like a mother, but I'll recover."

Elijah looked off into the distance. "We were not their real targets. They must have waited till we were separated and thought to eliminate us while we were separated."

Caesar's eyes widened. "They'll be after Wisteria."

"We should hurry then."

* * *

><p><em>Elsewhere...<em>

* * *

><p>Wisteria and Neideen appeared in a flash at an opening in the woods, a spacious field with tall grass. Roxanne stood nearby.<p>

"Don't interfere! Got it?!" Neideen asked.

"Got it, sis!" Roxanne called back cheerfully.

"Now then..." Neideen said drawing her claymore.

"Let's get to it." Wisteria finished.

They met in the middle as their blades clashed, air rushing from them.

Wisteria began to trust as Neideen daftly avoided the blows before getting in position to counter slashing back but cutting only grass as Wisteria moved to get some distance.

She held out her sword in front of her, adjusting her grip on the handle. Neideen felt as her yoki shifted, and braced herself. "Here it comes..."

Wisteria dashed forward and gave an overhead swing. Neideen saw it but instead of moving to block it blocked to the side of herself.

**CLANK**

Blades met as Wisteria widened her eyes. She stepped back again as Neideen gave her a smug smile. "Thought you could get me? Whip-Fist Wisteria?" she asked.

Roxanne gave a small smirk. _"'Whip-Fist' a technique that relies on the precise movement of the blade. Before striking with it the user dislocates the wrists of their hands, then when going for the initial strike, it is seemingly as fast as a normal blade strike. However, as the blade begins to make contact the user quickly moves their arms in another direction with much greater speed than the initial blow, causing the blade to afterimage and then make contact in a completely different approach vector, the dislocated wrists allowing for sudden twists so long as the fingers maintain their grip."_ She watched on with some envy. _"It is quite the technique, however Neideen's ability to read yoki is what has allowed her to keep up as she can sense the slight changes in yoki flow and act accordingly, despite what her eyes see. Sorry Wisteria, looks like your ace in the hole isn't going to be enough for that one."_

Wisteria and Neideen continued to fight but little by little Neideen gained on her until...

_**SWING... **_**CLANK**

Wisteria's weapon landed some distance away from her as Neideen stood over a knelt down Wisteria, the latter gripping her sword arm as it bled freely.

Wisteria winced at the pain but gave a smile to her fellow warrior. "Heh... guess you've gotten better since I last saw you eh?"

Neideen put the tip of her claymore to Wisteria's throat. "One last chance..." she said, almost a whisper.

Wisteria gave a weary smile. "You already know what the answer to that is."

Neideen sighed raising her sword. "Goodbye, comrade."

Wisteria closed her eyes, accepting her fate. _"Sorry Duran, maybe in the next life..."_

But nothing came.

Wisteria looked up to see a sigh she never expected, a sight that made her eyes go wide with shock.

Neideen's body hung in the air, impaled on a claymore held by Roxanne. Neideen coughed up blood from her mouth as it sprayed down her shirt. She turned her head around slowly and weakly, uttering slow and full of effort as she tried to hold back the blood. "Rox... anne... you...? Why...?"

Roxanne gave a sad smile though her eyes betrayed her elation. "Sorry Neideen, I'm afraid this is as far as we go together." With that she flicked her wrist and Neideen's body was tossed aside. She grabbed her eye patch and threw it to the side, her empty socket filling with a new organ. She blinked a few times and the rubbed it. "Ahh... that's better."

Wisteria was still left in her shocked state as Roxanne walked calmly over to her. "She was your friend... why...?"

Roxanne shrugged, giving a glance over to the corpse. "No reason. She had outlived her usefulness to me. She was unneeded and i took care of it."

"You bitch! Just what do you think lives are?" she shouted only for Roxanne to answer as she impaled Wisteria's leg with a sudden movement.

"You know... most people talk to me with a little more respect." Roxanne said calmly, twisting the blade around as Wisteria grunted in pain. "You had an interesting move too, i would have liked to have learned it." she looked to the sky as if lost in thought, then turned her attention back toward Wisteria, kicking the kneeling warrior over on her back and raising her sword. "Ah well... time to take care of the rest of the trash."

"NOOOOO!"

Roxanne pieced Wisteria through her abdomen, a scream echoed across the field but it was not from Wisteria.

Roxanne turned around to see Duran need the edge of the woods, looking at her and the bloodied blade. He ran towards her. "AHH!" he shouted as he charged her, she looked board as she took claymore's fat side the smacked him to the ground.

Kyrie broke through the wooded entrance to the forest just in time to see Roxanne striking Duran. She ran over to him. "Duran! Are you alright?!" she asked. Duran only sputtered as a large bruise adored his side, a single line of blood came from his mouth as tears began to flow from his eyes.

Wisteria coughed up blood and weakly lifted her head up to see Duran on the ground a few feet away. "Du... ran..." she almost whispered.

Roxanne looked back to Wisteria with disinterest. "Still alive, huh? Well, i doubt you'll hold on for much longer." she hoisted her claymore onto her shoulders looking to the humans. "As for you two i don't really have interest in either one of you." she sheathed her blade and turned to leave. "I'm done here. Goodbye." she said walking off.

"W...wait. You... bitch." Roxanne stopped and glanced back to see Duran standing on his feet supported by Kyrie.

"Oh? Still conscious?" she said bordedly. "I thought you might pass out from the pain after I broke so many ribs."

"Come... and... fight... me..." he said between pants, holding his side with great pain.

Roxanne laughed. "Hahahaha! Fight you?!" she turned around completely. "You can barely stand or speak, let alone fight."

"What's the matter... afraid...?" he breathed out.

Roxanne walked calmly over to him, Kyrie still at his side, she put her palm to his chest and with her fingers push him, he flew across the field. Kyrie was pushed down to the ground at the force of impact.

Roxanne then walked over to Duran, he breathed heavily as he received even more wounds. She raised her sword, and pointed the tip down. "Perhaps it'd be better if I just take care of you, annoying gnat."

"Don't you... touch him..."

Roxanne turned around to see Wisteria standing up, her eyes golden and her features becoming yoma like. "How quaint. Lovers fighting for each other." Roxanne observed, noticing the blood still flowing free from Wisteria's large chest wound. "But it's already over for you, Wisteria."

Wisteria took one step forward, gripping her sword weakly as she strained herself to move. "Not... yet..." she breathed before she fell to her knees. Roxanne strode over and stood in front the former warrior. She kicked Wisteria to her back again, placing a boot on her chest and pressing down rubbing the wound as Wisteria shouted in pain.

"What a pity all around. You should all just die..." With that she brought down her sword.

**CLANG**

Roxanne's blade was halted as Caesar suddenly appeared parrying the blade. "Who are-?" she suddenly tensed up and then disappeared as Elijah appeared behind her with a swing to cut off her head.

She reappeared some yards away. "You two… you must be the other yoki I sensed earlier. The 'anomalies' Serena mentioned." Caesar and Elijah quickly rushed to her as she shrugged. "Ah well, I've got no interest in fighting you guys right now. See ya later." She said with a wink before Elijah and Caesar brought down their claymores on her position, whipping up dust and dirt. Only to find she had disappeared. Caesar looked to Elijah as he made a face of frustration. "It's no good, I can't sense her anymore."

"What do you mean? You're the best sensor around!"

"I know but… it's like she's blocked me from seeing her. I don't know how she's doing it."

"Damn it!" Caesar cursed as dirt and debris flew into the air again.

Duran bent over, albeit with some hesitation due to the pain and picked up Wisteria's head, cradling it as she gave a small smile to him. "You… were so… brave…" she whispered to him as he held her, tears freely flowing from his face. Kyrie Caesar and Elijah walked nearer getting close as Duran held her.

Duran only managed to squeeze out a few words in between tears. "Don't speak… don't speak… save your strength."

Caesar turned to Elijah. "Think you can…?"

Elijah shook his head, genuine sorrow seeming to come across his features. "She has lost far too much blood, her organs are too damaged. She's far beyond my ability to help now."

Wisteria chuckled softly. "Don't… sugar… coat… it…" she said her voice weak as she chuckled slightly, but coughed up more blood. She pointed to her face, her goggles still attached. "Take… these…" Duran nodded as he took off her goggles as well as his own glasses. She laid a hand on his cheek, blood on her hand now staining it as he held it there with his other hand. "There… they are… those… big… beautiful eyes…" she whispered.

She did her best to turn her head as she looked to Kyrie. "Come… here…" She brought Kyrie close and whispered into her ear, Kyrie's eyes growing wide with revelation. "Understand?" she asked. Kyrie nodded. "Good… then that'll have to do…"

She looked to Elijah and Caesar. "You two… protect her…" she breathed in heavily. "With your lives… she'll need you… both of you…"

Caesar and Elijah each gave a nod and Wisteria smiled. "Good… I don't… know… what brought you… together… but… don't… ever… let it go… and…" she breathed her voice growing continually weak. She weakly reached into her person and grabbed a bottle of pills. "Take… these… might come in handy…" she weakly tossed them over to them as Elijah picked up the bottle, pocketing it.

She turned one last time back to Duran. "Promise me…? Promise me… you keep… our… dream…?"

Duran nodded. "Always."

"That's good… I know you will… you… were… always…" with that she said no more, her limb growing limp, as Kyrie Elijah and Caesar all lowered their heads, Duran raising his to the sky as he howled in agony.

* * *

><p><em>Later…<em>

* * *

><p>Duran looked on listlessly at the mound before him, all that was left of the one person he loved above all else. He then turned to look at the three, wiping his eyes. "Thank you, for all you've done."<p>

"No, it's us who should be thanking you." She said. "You helped me out when I had no one else, you've both helped more than you know."

Duran gave a weak smile then turned to look at the grave. "Yeah, perhaps it was foolish of me to think I could ever change her."

"But you did." Elijah stated, surprising all three. "You gave her the courage to walk away form the only life she'd ever known. Don't ever doubt the feelings she had for you, or you for her."

Duran's smiled widened a bit at that. "Thanks." Elijah merely nodded in response.

So what will you do now?" Caesar asked.

Duran shrugged. "Fulfill our dream, see the world, make a life somewhere and make it worth living."

"That's great." Kyrie said then walked up to Duran and hugged him. "Take care alright?"

Duran patted her head softly. "Thanks you too, and take these he said handing the goggles to Caesar and the goggles to Elijah. "Might come in handy." He said almost echoing his lover's words.

The three walked off, maintain silence until they hit the main road.

Caesar nudged Elijah. "I didn't know you were such a romantic, Elijah."

Elijah simply grunted. "A brute like you wouldn't understand such things anyways.

Caesar almost chuckled at that. "Heh. Same old Elijah." He turned his attention to Kyrie. "Now what?"

"Now we have out heading."

"Really? Finally!"

"Yes we've finally got direction. Next stop Rabona!"

* * *

><p><em>Later… far to the East…<em>

* * *

><p>The Organization's higher ups all seated in a half circle as Roxanne and the others stood before them finishing their report.<p>

"So… Neideen has passed, regrettable, but acceptable."

Roxanne nodded. "Her passing wounds us all."

"At any rate these two renegades must be dealt with."

Roxanne spoke up. "Excuse me sir? What about the rankings?"

"Seeing as we have no particularly strong candidates at this time, you all shall move up." The seated man declared.

"I see." Roxanne said, hiding her elation.

"At any rate, until we have decided how to deal with this you are dismissed to your sectors." The man said, with that the warriors departed the room.

"What do you think?" he asked a figure standing nearby in the shadows.

"Could be trouble, but I doubt it's anything I couldn't handle."

"By yourself?"

"I prefer it that way, my style of fighting, it's not suited for groups."

"As you like then. You are to find and eliminate these renegades at once, Cassandra."

"As you command."

* * *

><p><strong>So finally done, man it has been a while since my last one, like I think this has been the longest I've been away. But honestly without the main story to guide me I was lost on what exactly I wanted to do, but now that I've had time to think I think I too have a new heading. I've also noticed some structural weaknesses in my story, (story-wise, not grammar-wise obviously) so I might take some time to skim through those and adjust them. I don't think i can do fight scenes very well because i always feel lik ei write too much by describing every detail of their actions or too little by summerizing what should be ten minuets of solid action. Anyways I hope you guys have enjoyed reading. Catch ya later.<strong>


End file.
